Papa, Tell me About Your Wings
by destiel.vaughnton
Summary: She knows that her Daddy can fight monsters like nobody's business, and she knows that her Papa used to be an angel. Dean and Cas have settled down, but what happens when the Supernatural comes knocking again? Kid!fic Rated T for kissing, innuendo, and swearing. Pairings: Dean/Cas, Sam/Amelia. Fluff/action.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Supernatural and characters all belong to Eric Kripke and the CW network. I make no money from this fanfiction.

Dean slowly blinks his eyes open, stretching slightly in the warm indent that had formed in the memory foam mattress while he slept. The sheets were twisted slightly around him, and a strong arm was draped over his chest. He glances down to see Cas' head resting against his chest, and he chuckles slightly at his unusual sleeping posture- one leg half dangling off the edge of the bed, the other sprawled over Dean's legs, one arm tucked neatly underneath him, the other flung across Dean's chest.

Dean usually always woke up first, and when he did, he liked to just stay put and watch Cas sleep. His face relaxed, his features serene, his mouth slightly open, snoring softly in a way that was nothing short of adorable. His face would accumulate a thin layer of stubble overnight, and his hair would arrange itself into the best damn sex hair Dean had ever seen, that is, besides Castiel's actual sex hair (which was nothing short of glorious.)

Dean would just lie there, in the warm indent of his mattress, basking in the beam of sunlight that came through the window and hit straight across the bed at this time of day, with his angel curled against him, staying still for as long as possible before he finally had to get up. And when he did, he'd always wake Castiel up gently, with soft touches or maybe a gentle kiss, because call him a total sap for admitting it, but he loved being the one to see Castiel's blue eyes flutter open every morning, and he'd never miss it for the world.

Today, Dean scratches Castiel's upper back softly, a gesture of soothing comfort between them that had began soon after the Fall and had never really stopped. He runs a hand through his angel's hair gently and just like that, his eyes flutter open softly, and Dean's caught up in the sheer _blue _of them, and somehow that never gets old.

"Morning, Cas," Dean breathes, and Castiel stretches like a cat for a moment before murmuring back a soft "Good morning, Dean," and curling into Dean a little more. Dean smiles for a moment and plants a soft kiss on Castiel's temple before sliding out from under the covers and padding into the bathroom.

He returns a few moments later to see that Cas is rubbing his eyes and sitting up straight in bed, having decided to actually get up instead of trying to go back to sleep. Dean settles in beside him, and he kisses Cas softly on the cheek, the stubble brushing his lips briefly, and Cas just grins and takes Dean's hand into his own, interweaving the fingers with his own. Somehow, they never left the honeymoon phase, and here they are, years later, and still holding hands like a couple of teenagers. And he'd hate to admit it, but Dean loves every minute of it.

Just then, the door creaks open, and a tiny human, no older than 4, comes padding in through the doorway, a small blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

"Good morning, Angel. Climb on up!" Dean says, and the little figure squeals in excitement at the invitation and rushes over to the bed, and with a little help from Dean, she scrambles onto the mattress.

"Daddy!" she giggles excitedly, and Cas just laughs and swoops her up into his arms.

"How's our little princess doing, hmm?" he asks, tickling her gently.

"Good," she says. "I didn't have any bad dreams last night, Papa."

Cas smiles and kisses her on the cheek. "That is excellent news."

Dean just smiles at the sight of the two of them. Hell, if you would have asked him before the Fall if he ever thought he'd find himself here- six years later, with Cas, and a daughter to call their own- he'd never have guessed.

"I'm glad to hear it, Angel," he says, and then he lifts her off of Cas' lap and into his arms. "Now what do you say we all get cleaned up and dressed and then we can go get some breakfast before we drop you off at playschool?"

She nods excitedly. "Okay, Daddy."

Dean slides out of bed and takes his daughter by the hand and leads her down the hallway into her own bedroom. He opens the closet doors and helps her pick out some clothes: a twirly white skirt with pink polka dots, a pair of black tights, and a soft gray Guns and Roses t-shirt and though she may not yet fully grasp what it means, she saw her Daddy wearing a similar one and demanded one of her own, so Dean spent the next few days scouring the internet trying to find one, and when he finally did, he put it on rush shipping.

He hears the shower water running in the bedroom as he helps his daughter get dressed, and then he leads her into the little hall bathroom she's claimed as her own, and he helps her brush her teeth and then he brushes her soft blond hair and pulls it back and braids it, something he picked up fairly quickly once he became responsible for the appearance and behavior of a tiny girl human, because tiny girl humans need help with this sort of thing. Once he ties off the braid with a little elastic, he hears the shower water click off, so he leads Angel back into her bedroom and sits down in the small easy chair in the corner of the room as she packs her little Batman backpack, which she had specifically asked for after rejecting all of the vaguely feminine backpacks as "wimpy," claiming that she wanted a superhero backpack, and even starting a small rant about how much the lack of female superheroes vexed her. Though the three of them had gotten some strange looks in the aisle of Walmart, Dean had never been more proud.

Angel Mary-Ellen Winchester certainly lived up to her Daddy's Winchester legacy. A few weeks back, she'd gotten sent home early from playschool, because she had seen a five year old boy picking on a three year old boy, demanding a toy firetruck from him and threatening to hit him. Naturally, her response had been to shove him back against the wall and tell him to "knock it off or I'll have my Papa smite you!" which hadn't gone over well with the daycare supervisors.

No, they didn't tell her everything, though they certainly intended to once she got older, maybe ten or eleven, around the age that Sam found out. But she knew enough. She knew her Papa used to be an angel, and she knew that her Daddy was a superhero who protected the world from evil scary monsters, which went a long way towards curing her fear of the dark, after Dean had assured her that if any monsters tried to get her, he'd beat the living crap out of them.

Of course, no monsters could get her at night, since Angel's room was as protected as Bobby's panic room, if not more so- salt mixed into the paint, iron reinforced walls, thin iron bars worked into the baseboards that ran all around the room, angel warding symbols under the paint on the walls and door, and an enormous devil's trap under the paint on the ceiling, not to mention the protective symbols carved into her crib, and then later her toddler bed. A giant triple-locked box in her closet held food, water, and some basic hunting materials. Before the adoption was finalized, Sam had spent almost a month helping Dean and Cas turn her room into the house's panic room, protecting her from anything and everything that could possibly hurt their little girl. And of course, it went without saying that whenever they got the call from Sam, they'd drop everything and head to Kermit to return the favor. Sam and Amelia had been trying for two or three years, ever since they got married, but Amelia's uterus just refused to get with the program. Dean and Cas had suggested adoption, but Sam and Amelia were determined, and they wanted a child that was purely, 100% theirs. Amelia was on IVF now, though, so hopefully that will help them welcome their own little Winchester into the family. But until then, they have dogs, 3 of them to be exact.

When Sam finally came clean to Amelia, about everything, with the proof to back it up, she accepted it better than anyone expected, meaning that she only locked Sam out of the house and car for a week before finally agreeing to "talk about it." She'd come around, though, and when Dean saw just how happy she made Sam, he had no choice but to back them 100% of the way.

So yeah, they were still cautious. They still kept some stuff, things they would need if anything creepy came knocking. But they had given up hunting entirely. It had been a hard transition for Dean, but over the years, he'd transitioned from knives and whiskey to number two pencils and coffee, and now he teaches the mythology classes at the local high school, and he likes it more than he'll admit. He's still in his comfort zone- he gets to talk about the things he's known all his life, and it gives him that satisfying thrill of passing on his own knowledge that he experienced with Sammy growing up. Cas co-runs a small bakery in town with two other people. After the Fall, Dean had showed him how to make apple pie, and he'd never really looked back after that. For the most part, he makes all the bakery's pies, but Dean had to admit, he can frost a cake like nobody's business.

Dean blinks, realizing that he had sort of lost himself in his train of thought, and Angel comes up to him, her backpack all packed up with the things she needs for the day, and he helps her zip it up and slip it onto her shoulders. Then he leads her into the master bedroom, where Cas is finishing getting dressed, having showered and shaved and brushed his teeth. Right now he's already got his jeans on and he pulls on a gray T-shirt before shrugging his arms into his black leather jacket, and damn, somehow Dean never got tired of seeing his husband in it.

Angel runs up to Cas, who picks her up and twirls her around for a minute.  
"Well, don't you look pretty," he says. "Daddy even braided your hair today. You should tell him thank you."

"Thank you Daddy!" she cries, running over and hugging his leg tightly, because being a tiny girl human, that was the best she could do.

Dean laughs and scoops her up. "How about a real hug, huh? And then you can go downstairs with Papa and get some breakfast while I get dressed, okay Angel?"

She smiles brightly, her green eyes sparkling as she hugs her Daddy tight. She almost had Dean's eyes and sometimes Dean thought she had Mary's hair. At first Dean had thought that it wasn't fair that she looked nothing like Cas, but he was wrong. Despite being completely unrelated biologically, they had the exact same smile. He gives her a quick kiss on the cheek before handing her back to Cas, and then he quickly showers, shaves, and brushes his teeth before getting dressed in jeans, a black T-shirt, and his old brown leather hunting jacket. He always kept the damn thing, just like how Castiel's trench coat still hangs at the back of the closet, untouched, slightly torn and frayed from the wear and tear it had received following the Fall.

Dean slides Sam's amulet around his neck. Even when he had dropped it in the trash, Sam had pulled it back out and kept it, knowing that someday, Dean would want it back. And when all their friends had gathered together at the little Suburban house that Dean and Cas shared in Lawrence four years ago, the day they had signed the papers at the courthouse and officially gotten married, their first night home with Angel, a sort of baby shower/wedding reception if you will, Sam had just taken his turn holding their little girl before hugging Dean and folding the amulet into his hand, and somehow the simple action had repaired what was broken between them better than anything else could have.

Dean finishes getting dressed by slipping his wallet and keys and cell phone into his various jacket pockets and putting on his watch and wedding ring, and then he jogs down the stairs and as soon as he walks into the kitchen, Cas is shoving a cup of coffee into his hands and Dean is accepting it gratefully. He slugs it down and then he turns back to Cas and pulls him in for a quick kiss that rather quickly deepens into one that Angel probably shouldn't be watching, and when she finally notices and squeals "Eww! Stop kissing, that's icky!" Dean just laughs and pulls away and leans his forehead against Castiel's, taking great pleasure in the fact that his husband's breathing is just a little ragged.

"I love you," he whispers, before giving Cas one more quick kiss and heading out to the Impala, at exactly 7:30. School starts in a half hour, and even though he can afford to be late since first period is his prep, he'd prefer not to, because he likes being able to sit in his empty classroom and get ahead on grading while slowly draining a cup of the crappy staff lounge coffee and gearing up to start the day. Charlie would drop by the house at around 7:45 to pick Angel up and take her to daycare, which worked out rather nicely considering that Charlie lived in Lawrence after her last hacking-based brush with the law and subsequent relocation to a middle of nowhere town. Except this time, she didn't seem to be moving. She found a girl and settled down, and now they own a studio apartment on the other side of town and Charlie works at an insurance company a few blocks away from Angel's daycare.

Being the little Winchester's godmother an all, she had gladly volunteered to drive her to and from daycare most days if it meant being able to see her for a few minutes. Cas, on the other hand, preferred to walk to work. It was a short walk, only around ten minutes or so, but no matter how many times Dean offered to drive him, Cas insisted that he liked walking to work, because it gave him a while to clear his head and have time to think before he started the day on the way there, and time to relax and unwind a little at the end of the day, so eventually Dean just let him be.

As Dean turns into the high school parking lot, the last few notes of "Ramble On" play, and he shuts off the radio and turns off the car before grabbing his grading folders and heading into the building, making his way to his classroom as the bell for first period rings.

When he arrives, he sits the folders down on his desk and then proceeds to start preparing for the day- finishing the last two slides on the Christian Mythology presentation the kids were working on at the moment, arranging the desks into a circle for group discussion, and getting everything up to date in the grade book before going through his email and reading a couple of important messages the school had to send him and making a reminder to himself that the teacher meeting is tomorrow during lunch. Then he just settles down in his desk chair, props his feet on the desk, and turns on his classic rock playlist. He makes it a personal goal every year to make his kids not only smarter and more educated about Mythology, but also just a little cooler, and having Led Zeppelin and Asia playing quietly while he's teaching serves to facilitate that, plus it just keeps him in good spirits.

He's about halfway through his free period when there's a knock on his door.

"Come on in," he says, and the door swings open and one of his students steps in, a redheaded sophomore girl named Chloe, she's in his second period.

"Hey Dean, I need some help with numbers 5 and 6 from the sheet yesterday."

"Sure, no problem. Pull up a desk and let's see what's causing the trouble here."

"Okay, thanks. Question 5: Explain the Christian Mythology concept of each weekday having its own angel, and name the Angels we've discussed. Sorry, I know this is an easy question, I was just kind of spacing right then."

"No problem. So, do you remember how each day had its own angel, and how that angel was responsible for everyone born on that day?"

She nods. "Oh, yeah, I'm remembering now. Like, everyone born on a Tuesday has the Angel of Tuesday watching over them, right? And they're like a guardian angel and they answer the prayers of the Children of Tuesday?"

Dean nods. "Exactly! Very good, Chloe. Now do you remember the Angels?"

She frowns, obviously concentrating rather hard. "Umm...I know there's a Gabriel, and then isn't it Raphael, Uriel, Samandriel, Lucifer, Michael, and Castiel?"

Dean nods again. "Good, yeah! You're forgetting one, though. Think transformers."

She frowns in thought again before her face lights up. "Metatron! The scribe, right?"

Dean grins. "You got it. Okay, so that's it for that question...how about number 6?"

She turns the page to the next question after jotting down the answer, and then she reads the question out loud.

"Number 6: write a short narrative explaining why Lucifer fell from Heaven."

Dean bites his lip, trying to come up with a good hint. "So, Lucifer was an angel, right? And he fell for a reason, and then became what we know as Satan, or the Devil. So what made him Fall?"

Chloe thinks for a second. "Wasn't it something about loving humans?"

Dean nods. "You're on the right track. We covered this on Wednesday. Think back to what God told the angels when he created humans."

Chloe concentrates for a moment before looking back up at him. "Wasn't it that God told the angels to love humans more than him, and Lucifer realized that humans suck so he was like "I can't, they're stupid" and then God got mad and kicked him out of heaven?"

Dean laughs. "In a nutshell, yes. So go ahead and jot that down, and unless you had any other questions, that should be it, right?"

She finishes writing her answer before nodding.

"Yeah, that should be it. Thanks, Dean, that was a huge help. This is due at the start of class, right?"

"Yep. Thanks for dropping by, I'll see you next period."

"Okay. Thanks again for the help, Dean. See you next period."

And with that she packs her papers into her folder and heads out of the room, giving him a happy little wave as she leaves, which Dean gladly returns before slugging down the rest of his coffee.

He really loves his job.

6 hours and four classes later, the last bell has finally rung, so Dean dismisses his last period class and packs up all of the papers he needs to grade and briefly restores the classroom to some semblance of order before shutting down the computer, projector, and lights, and heading back out of the building towards his car. Overall, today was a success. The class discussions had gone off without a hitch, and remarkably, everyone had their homework done and ready to turn in on time. As he slides onto the bench seat of the Impala and fires up the engine and turns on the radio, he starts his drive home, eager to get home and maybe grab a beer with Cas and just have twenty minutes to themselves before they're scheduled to go pick up Angel.

When he pulls into the driveway, he parks and turns off the engine before getting out and grabbing his rather large stack of papers to grade and precariously carrying them into the kitchen and setting them down on the table. He sees Castiel's floury, slightly frosting-smeared apron hanging on the door to the laundry room, so that means he's home, he's just probably upstairs or something.

"Cas," he calls up the stairs. "I'm home."

A few moments later he hears an answer from upstairs. "I'll be down in a minute, I'm just grabbing some laundry to throw in the washer."

Dean chucks a short "Okay, babe" up the stairs at him, and then he heads over to the fridge and grabs two cold bottles of beer, and sure enough, a few moments later he hears footsteps on the stairs, and he hears the sounds of Cas starting a load of laundry from the other room, and then he finally walks into the kitchen and Dean can't help but laugh.

You know, he should be used to this by now, but the sight of Cas with his hair all messy and flour-streaked, with another smudge of the white powdery substance across one cheek, is just adorable beyond words. Dean pulls him in for a kiss and after a few seconds Castiel remembers what he's doing and responds eagerly, and Dean had to admit, Cas is quite the kisser. He runs a hand through Dean's hair and Dean reciprocates, moving his other hand to the back of Castiel's neck to pull him closer. Cas is the one who starts with the tongue, and in response Dean just licks the roof of the angel's mouth, something he knows always drives Cas crazy. He gently lifts Cas up to sit on the kitchen counter, and as the angel's hands work their way under his shirt, he tangles his fingers in Cas' dark, messy hair, and right then, the phone rings.

Cas starts trying to reach back and grab it, but Dean swats his hand out of the way and just kisses him softly. Cas lets out a small huff of breath and tangles his fingers in Dean's hair, and Dean just chuckles and does it again, kissing him through the first, second, and third ring of the phone. Finally, though, Cas pulls back.

"Dean, we really should get that. It could be about Angel."

Dean sighs and pulls back and Cas manages to grab the phone and hit answer right before it goes to voicemail.

"Castiel Winchester speaking. Oh, hey Charlie! Sure, that's perfectly fine with us. I think she'd love that. Take good care of her, okay? Just have her back before seven. Thank you so much, Charlie. Love you too. Bye."

Cas hangs up the phone and sets it back in the holder. "Charlie and Becca want to pick Angel up from daycare and take her home to eat dinner and watch a movie with them. I told them Angel would love to spend a few hours with them."

Dean smiles, placing one more soft kiss on Cas' lips. "When is she due back?"

Cas grins. "Seven."

Dean just smiles mischievously before picking a struggling, laughing Cas up off the counter and carrying the smaller man up the stairs.

At seven sharp, Charlie and Becca bring Angel back, and Cas is the one to answer the door.

"Hey, Angel!" he says, scooping her up and setting her on one hip.

"Hi Papa," she responds, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder.

"Thanks again so much for taking her for a while...we really appreciate it."

Charlie smiles. "No problem, we love having her. She was an absolute princess. And I've just introduced her to Tinkerbell. You can thank me later. We had pizza for dinner but she said she wasn't hungry, so she didn't each much, so you might still want to give her something to eat before bed."

Cas smiles. "Dean's almost done with dinner, if you want to stay. There's plenty of food."

Becca shakes her head. "Charlie's got a lot of claim forms to fill out and I think we're probably just gonna turn in early and call it a night tonight, but thanks for offering, Cas. Have a good night!"

"You too," Cas says, and they say their goodbyes and when Becca and Charlie are halfway back to their car, Cas shuts the front door and releases Angel from his hip, and she runs into the kitchen and imemdiately latches onto Dean's leg.

"Hi Daddy," she says, giggling as he pretends to stumble around the kitchen like he can't walk with her on his leg.

"Hey princess," he says. "How was Aunt Charlie's?"

"Good," she says. "We watched Tinkerbell and it was okay, all those fairies are really smart and they can build stuff, but it was kinda boring because nobody got into any fights. Can we watch Spiderman tonight?"

Dean laughs. "Sure thing, kiddo. I'm trying to cook burgers though, so if you want some of my special famous burgers, you've gotta get off my leg so I can finish cooking them."

The word "burgers" caught her attention, because she's sitting in her normal spot at the table coloring patiently before Dean can even finish his sentence.

_Like father like daughter, _Dean thinks, recalling Castiel's love for burgers.

Soon, dinner is ready, and the three of them eat together at the table while Angel chatters on about her day, with Cas and Dean interjecting the occasional comment or question. When everyone's done with dinner, Dean cuts three slices from the apple pie that Cas brought home and it's a great ending to a great meal.

Soon, though, it's 8 pm, which means bedtime for the little ones, so Dean carries their little girl up the stairs and into her bathroom, where it's his turn to supervise bathtime. He fills up the tub with warm water and dumps her toys in, holding a rather interesting conversation about unicorns with Angel while she washes off. She still needs help washing her hair, but she has everything else pretty much mastered. Once she's clean and dry, Dean combs her hair and braids it before helping her brush her teeth and change into her little nightgown. He carries her into her bedroom, where Cas is already waiting with a story in the rocking chair. Dean settles Angel down in her bed and tucks her in before leaving the room as quietly as he can. He settles down on the floor in the hallway. He's never mentioned it before, but Cas is a great storyteller, and having been around since the dawn of man kind of expands the story potentional, doesn't it? Most nights, Dean will sit down in the hallway and listen carefully as Cas tells their daughter whatever story he's prepared for them that night, and then he'll leave when he hears the story conclude and go downstairs, probably for some TV and, of course, an hour or two of grading.

He closes his eyes and leans back against the wall, listening.

"Papa?" Angel asks, softly.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"Back when you were an angel, did you have wings and a halo, like the angels in the Bible?"

Cas laughs. "I had wings, but no, I didn't have a halo. Those are just made-up, sweetie."

"Oh. Can you tell me about your wings, Papa?"

"Sure, Angel. The thing about wings is that every angel's wings look a little different. They can be different shapes, different colors, different sizes. When I was an angel, I was a soldier- I would fight in wars and help God to protect the world from monsters and bad people. I was the captain of my group of soldiers, my garrison. That meant I was a pretty powerful angel."

"You're not talking about your wings, Papa."

"Hold on, Angel, I'm getting to that part. My wings were very big. Each one was about as long as Uncle Sam is tall, maybe even a little bigger."

"Woah," Angel breathes. "Your wings were bigger than Uncle Sam? But he's so tall!"

Cas chuckles. "I know, baby. The problem with wings is that they have to be pretty big to carry a person around in the air. That's why we keep them folded into our backs most of the time, because if we didn't, they'd knock everything over."

"What color were your wings, Papa?"

"My wings were a warm white, kind of like the color of bread. Not bright white like paper. They were streaked with steely blue feathers, too, and some dark gray feathers, even a few black ones."

"They sound beautiful, Papa."

"They were, Angel. They didn't always look like that, though. That's how they were before I met your Daddy. Do you want me to tell you about the first time I saw your Daddy?"

"Yes, please," Angel says, sounding a little sleepy already.

"I got sent on a mission, to rescue your Daddy. See, he had been fighting monsters, and he got himself into trouble, a real bad spot, he had made a deal with a bad man trying to save his brother, your uncle Sam, and he died. The only problem was, God wasn't ready for him to die yet, because he hadn't done everything he needed to do in his life."

"Daddy died?"

"Yes, Angel. Your Daddy's died a couple of times, actually. You should ask him about it sometime."

Dean groans, already dreading that conversation.

"Wow. Did he go to Heaven when he died, or did he go to the bad place where bad people go? He went to Heaven, right?"

Cas is silent for a moment, trying to find a way to expain this to his daughter in a way she'd understand. "Well, when you die, everybody goes to the bad place at first. But then, if you were a good person, they'll send an angel down to rescue you and take you up to Heaven, and that's how it works. I was the one they sent to rescue your Daddy."

"Oh," Angel breathes. "Did you make him alive again?"

"Yes I did, sweetie," Cas says, and Dean can almost hear the smile in his voice. "I went down into the bad place and I found your Daddy, and grabbed him and flew us right out of there and back to Earth. I brought him back to life. And when an angel brings somebody back to life, it makes a mark on their body. That's how Daddy got that handprint on his arm. That's my handprint, and it means that I saved him. It means that I'm his guardian angel."

"Oh," Angel says, "Kind of like the note on a dog collar that says "This is my dog, if it's lost please call this number?"

Cas laughs. "Exactly like that, Angel. But I haven't finished telling you about my wings. See, when I first met your Daddy, when I was pulling him out of the bad place, something happened to them. The bad place is full of fire, and smoke, and evil scary things. And when I had to go down there to find him and fly us back out of that horrible place, my wings got burned."

"Were they okay?" Angel asks, alarmed.

"Yes, Angel, they were okay," he says. "They still worked, I could still fly with them. It didn't burn down to the skin on them, see, it only burned the feathers, so it didn't hurt. But my wings were white before I met your Daddy, but after I met your Daddy, all the feathers were black. They were still pretty- like how when you see a crow in the sun, the feathers aren't just black, they're green and blue and purple in places? That's how my wings were. And all the other angels in heaven saw my wings and they made me a hero for rescuing your Daddy. See, he had an important job to do, a lot of people to save. They called him The Righteous Man. And me, I was the angel who saved him. And that made me important. So my wings were a sort of badge of honor. An angel could look at them and see that I had done a very brave thing."

"Ohh," Angel breathes, clearly entranced by the story.

Cas continues. "But then, I started making friends with your Daddy. I was more than just the angel who saved him, I was his best friend. And, well, the other angels didn't like that too much. They stopped seeing my burned wings as a thing of beauty and they started calling them ugly. They thought that being friends with your Daddy made me weak, it made me less of an angel. But I just didn't listen to the mean things they said, because I didn't care. See, by then, I had already started falling in love with your Daddy."

"Did you tell him you loved him?" Angel asks.

"Not right then, no. But some little part of me could tell that your Daddy loved me too. It just took us a while to work up the courage to tell each other."

"Do you still have your wings, Papa? Angel asks, sleepily.

"Not anymore, Angel. I lost them when I fell, when I lost the part of me that was an angel, when I became a human like your Daddy."

"Did you ever get your angel parts back?"

"No, sweetie, I never could find my Grace. That's what it's called. See, I made a mistake, and I trusted a bad man, and he stole my Grace from me and he used it to do a spell that made all the angels lose their wings. But for them, their Grace would just fall somewhere on Earth, and they would feel a pull towards it. Once your Daddy and Uncle Sam and I figured that out, we would just tell all my brothers and sisters, all the fallen angels, to just follow the pull until they found their Grace. And once they found it, they could be angels again. But for me, it wasn't so easy. Because my Grace didn't fall on Earth, the bad man kept it locked away somewhere, and I can't feel where it is, he put some warding symbols on it so I can't tell where it is. He has it locked away somewhere in an angel-proof box."

"Are you and Daddy still trying to find it?"

"No, sweetie," Cas says, softly, almost sadly. "We looked for a long time. We looked until you were almost a year old. But then we realized that wherever it was, we weren't gonna find it, the bad man hid it too well. And we needed to stop searching for it, because that was helping the monsters and bad people figure out where we were, and we didn't want them to know we had you. So we decided to give up, and settle down, because we wanted to keep you safe."

"I made you give up trying to be an angel again?" Angel asks, obviously upset by this news.

"No, sweetie," Cas says. "I decided to give up because I love you more than my Grace. I can live without it, but I can't live without you. So if that means that for right now, I can't be an angel, that's okay. Because keeping you safe is more important."

"I love you, Papa," Angel whispers, and Cas just laughs.

"I love you too, Angel."

Ahh, so I don't even really know where this came from I just got a sudden urge to write domestic Destiel fluff at like 3 am and it turned into this. I guess this is based roughly off of my headcanons about Cas' wings. I'm sorry that Kevin did not make an appearance in this story, I really wanted him to, because I love Kevin to death, but I just couldn't find a way to make it work. I hope you guys liked this! Read, review, and be happy...


	2. Chapter 2

So, thanks to a lovely review from BowtiesAreCool456, I now have an idea for a second chapter, so this will now be a two-shot, my first multi-chapter fic so wish me luck. If anyone has any ideas for a third chapter, feel free to leave a review saying so! I guess at this point what I'm saying is that if you supply ideas for more chapters, I will write more, so you guys have a lot of control over what happens in this particular story...please use it wisely haha.

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or its characters, they belong to Eric Kripke and the CW network, I make no money off of this fanfiction.

Dean is sitting on the couch downstairs, sipping a beer and watching Dr. Sexy while he works his way through the pile of papers he has to grade, question worksheets like the one he helped Chloe with. He hears Cas' footsteps on the stairs, and when he walks into the room, looking a bit tired and thoughtful but happy, Dean smiles, remembering what he heard. Cas has given up so much for him, it really makes his heart hurt sometimes. He still has absolutely no idea why Castiel loves him so much.

"Hey babe," he says. "Is she asleep?"

Cas nods. "Yeah, she fell asleep about fifteen minutes ago, so we should probably expect her to be up a little later than usual tomorrow since she fell asleep a bit late."

Dean smiles. "Hey, if that means we get to sleep in for a few more minutes, then I'm not complaining."

Cas cracks a smile and heads into the kitchen, busying himself with cooking something. He returns a few moments later with a cup of tea in his hands, and Dean just can't help smiling at how adorable he is. Cas settles down on the couch next to Dean, snuggling into him slightly like a kitten seeking warmth, and Dean loops an arm around him almost protectively.

He knows that tonight, Cas was forced to remember some things he would probably rather forget, so he's not really in the best of moods, slightly tired and pensive and melancholy. Dean's been there before, more than a few times himself, so he takes it upon himself to cheer the angel up a little.

"What's on your mind?" he asks softly, and Cas sighs a little, closing his eyes.

"Angel asked to hear about my wings, and I got a little carried away."

"I know. I heard you."

Cas opens his eyes, turning to Dean, surprised. "You...what?"

Dean smiles. "I heard you. You're...most nights I kind of stand outside and listen to you telling her stories. I can't help it, it's just so damn adorable."

Cas smiles softly, relaxing back against Dean's shoulder. "Well, thanks for the compliment...but really, Dean, do you have to do that?"

Dean sighs. "Yeah, Cas. It's kinda my job. You tell her more than you tell me, so..."

Cas turns to give him a bitchface, something he picked up from Sam. "Exactly how is that possible, Dean? She's four years old."

Dean sighs. Crap, he screwed up...

"That's not what I meant, Cas, you know that. It's just...you never told me that you burned your wings saving me. You never told me how much crap you took from your brothers and sisters about me, I...I just never knew that you sacrificed that much for me, and I just...I wanted to say I'm sorry, Cas."

Cas turns to glare at him again, something behind his eyes that Dean can't quite place.  
"Dean, I have given up so much for you. My wings, the physical extension of my soul, were singed the first time I laid eyes on you. That changes a person. I don't regret it. I never have, and I never will. But the moment I saw you, Dean, you were my undoing. Because no matter how much you hate yourself, and how much you refuse to believe it, you are a wonderful human being and your soul is pure, and good, and right. And when I pulled you from Hell and when I left that handprint and when I put you back together again, I saw that no matter what you've done, after everything you've been through, you still have hope, and your soul remains untarnished. And that was a wonder inside of itself that never ceased to fascinate me, Dean. So yes, when I saw you, I was stupid enough to fall in love with you. And I burned my wings for you, and I've died for you, and I've been outcast by my family for you. I've been resurected for you, I rebelled for you, and I failed my brothers and sisters for you. But I love you, and I always will. So I married you, and I raised a child with you, and I don't regret a moment of it because I still love you, Dean. But if you don't pull your head out of your ass and stop pretending like I regret all the things I've done for you, so help me Father, I will deny you sex for a month."

"I..." Dean stutters, "You don't...you don't regret any of it?"

"Dean," Cas sighs. "Of course not. Sometimes I wish you were an angel so you could understand the basic truth of these things. If you had been in my place, if you had seen your soul, the only bright, pure thing in that black, torturous place...honestly, Dean, you'd never have been able to restrain yourself as long as I did."

Dean smiles. "I still don't know how you resisted this Winchester charm for so long."

Cas rolls his eyes and swats Dean on the arm. "I'm serious, Dean. I...honestly, if you could see your own soul through the eyes of an angel...they don't call you the Righteous Man for nothing. I was your guardian. From the first second I laid that handprint on your arm, I basically claimed dibs on you."

Dean rolls his eyes, grinning. He would never regret teaching Cas about the laws of dibs.

"Okay, fine, you're right. It's just...I always feel bad because I mean, Cas, you died for me, multiple times...there's just no possible way I can make that up to you, and it always makes me feel like I took more than I can give."

After a moment of tense silence, Cas turns to smirk at Dean. "You're entirely right, Dean. It will take a long time for you to get even with me. But I know where you can start."

Dean, sensing where this conversation is going, responds with a mischievous "Oh, really?"

Cas just nods. "Mmm hmm. I know exactly where you can start."

The next morning, Dean wakes up, surprised to see that Cas is awake before him for a change, and he's a foot or so away on the bed, just looking at Dean and smiling.

"Morning, hunter," he says, and Dean laughs.

"Morning, angel," he says. And though waking up to the angel's bright blue eyes is rather nice, it's just not as awesome as being the one to see them open. "How'd you manage to wake up before me?"

Cas snorts. "I think we both know why, Dean."

Dean sighs, closing his eyes and rubbing them before sitting up in bed. "Okay, fine. You win. Is Angel up yet?"

"No," Cas says, sliding out of bed and heading into the bathroom. "Do you want first shower or second?"

"You go first, babe," he says, grabbing his phone off the nightstand and checking the time as he throws on a pair of sweatpants. 6:59. Good, he hadn't overslept. Right as he hears the shower water click on in the bathroom, Angel stumbles into the room, rubbing her eyes blearily.  
"Morning, Daddy," she says. "Where's Papa?"

"In the shower, sweetie," Dean says, sliding out of bed and taking her hand, leading her into her bedroom to start helping her get dressed.

"Daddy," she asks, as she pulls on the little lilac dress she's wearing over her black leggings, "last night Papa told me that you died? A lot? Is that true?"

"He was telling you the truth, Angel. I've died before, three or four times, I don't really remember."

"What's it like?" she asks as Dean leads her into the bathroom to brush her teeth and fix her hair.

"Well, it's scary," Dean responds, brushing her hair and working it into pigtails. "That's for sure. Even scarier than the monsters me and your Uncle Sam used to fight. But don't worry, Angel. We're never gonna let that happen to you. And besides, it was all right in the end, because your Papa always brought me back to life again."

"I thought you couldn't bring someone back to life again. I thought when you died you were dead forever."

Dean grins. "That's what most people think, sweetheart. But see, me and your Uncle Sam, we're good friends with Death."

Angel wrinkles her nose in confusion. "Death is a person? Eww. Isn't he icky and all dead?"

Dean laughs. "No, honey. He's actually a really nice man."

"Oh," she says, as Dean secures the second pigtail and straightens her dress. "If Death is a person and people can come back to life...does that mean that magic and fairies are real?"

Dean smiles. "Yeah, it does. Magic is absolutely real. I've done some magic before, spells and rituals and stuff. Potions, not so much. Fairies are real too, except they're not as nice as the ones you see in the stories. They like to kidnap people and then poke them with stuff, it's not very much fun."

"Magic is real? Whoa...and, wait, Death is nice but Fairies aren't? That seems weird. Did you ever get kidnapped by Fairies, Daddy?"

Dean laughs, remember that unfortunate encounter. "I did, as a matter of fact."

"Did they poke you with stuff?"

Dean grimaces, remembering the alien-like encounter he'd had with them. "Yeah, Angel, you could say that."

There's silence for a moment as Dean helps Angel brush her teeth. Once she's done, though, she's waiting with another question.

"Daddy, Ava from playschool said that her grandma and grandpa are coming to visit. Do I have a grandma and a grandpa?"  
"Well," he says. "You don't have any Winchester grandparents, because my parents, John and Mary, died when I was younger. And no, we can't bring them back, believe me I've tried. But you do have one grandpa, on Castiel's side of the family. His name is Chuck, we'll have to see if you can meet him sometime. He's a very busy man, though."

"Oh. Is he still an angel? Did he find his Grace, like Papa said?"

Dean laughs. "No, sweetie. Your grandpa was never an angel...he's God."

Angel's jaw drops open. "God like from the Bible?"

Dean nods. "Yeah. God's your grandpa, because he's all the angels' daddy."

"Woah," she breathes, and Dean just chuckles again. Realizing he was God's son in law had been more than a little nerve-wracking, so he understands her pain.

He hears the shower click off and he leads Angel back into her bedroom while she packs her little backpack, and when she's finished, he scoops her up and carries her back into the bedroom to hand her off to Cas while he showers.

Right as they walk through the door, though, Angel turns to Dean, her nose scrunched up in confusion. "Wait...God's name is Chuck?"

Dean just laughs and gives her a kiss on the cheek before setting her down. "Yep. He's a nice man, you'll like him."

Cas is just finishing getting dressed, throwing on a shirt and his jacket, and Dean heads into the bathroom when he hears the two of them leave the bedroom and start down the hallway towards the stairs. He showers, shaves, and brushes his teeth quickly before throwing on some jeans, a random clean T-shirt, and his hunting jacket. He puts on his old boots, and his watch and ring, and then he slides his wallet into one pocket and his phone into the other. He heads downstairs and Angel is finishing breakfast, and Cas is pouring two cups of coffee. He hands Dean one with a quick kiss, and Dean returns the kiss before pulling his husband into a hug.

"I'm sorry about last night, babe. I love you," he says, and Cas just whispers his retort in Dean's ear.

"What do you have to be sorry about? I thought it was great."

Dean rolls his eyes, pulling away from Cas and flashing him a "you have got to be joking" look. "That's not what I meant, and you know it. Get your mind out of the gutter, Angel's right there."

Cas laughs and hands Dean a granola bar from a box on the counter. "You better go, or else you're going to be late. Have a good day at work, okay?"

Dean smiles. "Okay, I will."

He gives Angel a hug as he walks past the table, telling her goodbye and that he'll see her soon, and then he heads out to his car and starts the drive to work.

He arrives at 8:05, and he parks and heads inside, through the halls and to his classroom. When he gets there, he settles down at his desk, and he quickly finishes his coffee and granola bar and then he works through the last few papers in his grading pile, when suddenly there's a knock on his door.

"Come in," he says, and he hears the door open and he looks in the reflection of his hibernating computer monitor to see who's there, because he's lazy like that.

Ten students. And twenty black eyes staring back at him.

Shit, shit, oh shit. He looks around for anything he could use, and he finds nothing. Goddamnit, he's stupid. Not even salt. That just leaves the exorcism. But he has to time it right, or else he'll just end up getting thrown against a wall, or worse. But first, he needs to be prepared. Play it cool, like he doesn't even know they're here.

"Can I help you with anything?" he asks, as he takes his phone out of his pocket and starts a text to Sam and Cas.

Demons, school. Ten of them. I've got nothing but the exorcism, I need backup.

He sends it off and slips his phone back in his pocket before turning around in his chair to face the students. He has to act like he just now realized what they were.

"Shit!" he yells. "What do you black-eyed sons of bitches want? I don't even hunt anymore, jesus christ!"

The demon at the front of pack is using Chloe as their meatsuit of choice. "Ah, but once a hunter, always a hunter. We're on specific orders from the boss, you know. See, you chose your stupid brother's life over finishing the third trial, and, well, let's just say that Crowley didn't last long in his rather weakened state after you just left him there. There's a new sheriff in town. I'm not so sure I like this new body...it's just a girl, and I'm used to being a woman. Gets you a little more respect, don't you think?"

"Abbadon," Dean breathes. Chuck help him, he's in even more trouble than he thought.

"Pleasure," she says, advancing a step or two. "I really didn't appreciate you torching my other meatsuit, by the way. I had grown rather attached to it, and bodies aren't nearly such comfortable homes when they're deep fried extra crispy."

Dean wrinkles his nose at the disgusting thought. "Yeah, well, sorry about that," he quips.

He pulls his phone out of his pocket. He has to make it look like he's struggling to escape, or they'll know something is up.

Abbadon growls and the phone whirls out of Dean's hand and smashes into the wall. "Ah ah ah, none of that, Winchester," she says. "Besides, your darling dearest doesn't exactly have the...juice, to handle someone like me. Metatron still has his Grace, if I'm not mistaken. I'll really have to thank him for that, it's really come in handy, you not having your angel boyfriend here to rescue you."

"Shut up bitch," Dean snarls at her. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

Abbadon just laughs. "Oh, Dean, sweetheart, I know exactly what I'm talking about. I have eyes everywhere. Like, for instance, the teachers at little Angel's daycare. That was an excellent choice on my part, a real strategical advantage."

Dean's heart drops. "Son of a bitch!" he yells. "You keep them away from her. What the hell do you even want from me?"

Abbadon feigns a yawn and stretch, smiling at him sweetly. "Oh, nothing much," she says. "It's just that ever since you two stepped off the playing field, it's been rather boring for us down there, not much to do, no one trying to kill us every few minutes. We just thought we'd come up here and pay you a visit, just like old times. Maybe get a little payback for all the hell you've caused us. Pun fully intended."

Dean gawks at her. "You're threatening my family because you're bored? God, you really are a bitch. Go find something else to do. Go torture some souls or something."

"I bet you'd love to," Abbadon says sweetly. "Wouldn't you, Dean?"

"No, I wouldn't," he says. "Screw you."

Abbadon just laughs. "I'm sure you would, sweetie, but little Chloe's stuck inside this body with me, and that might be rather traumatic for her."

Dean just growls at her. "You stay the hell away from my family, you black-eyed bitch, or there will be hell to pay."

"Ah, little Dean...always so loyal," she says, smiling at him. "Let's see what happens when I tell my soldiers stationed at Castiel's quaint little bakery that you're not cooperating."

Dean takes a deep breath. He's really screwed this time. Hell, it even looks like he might not be getting out of this one. Sam's too far away to get here in time, and Abbadon has snipers trained on Angel and Cas and they'll fire the second something doesn't go her way.

"What do you want?" he asks.

"I don't know, maybe just to toss you around a little and beat you up pretty good. Maybe a little bit of emotional scarring from the deaths of your family. I haven't decided yet."

Suddenly, there's a sharp cracking noise and the fluttering of wings, and Abbadon gasps as Gabriel grabs her by the hair and yanks her head back, placing Ruby's demon knife at her throat.

"Call it off, or I kill you," he says, almost sounding bored.

Sam, who appeared right next to him, shoots a steady stream of holy water at the remaining demons, tossing Dean a container of salt. "Exorcism, now!" he shouts, and Dean proceeds to start throwing salt at the remaining demons while trying to avoid their attempts to fight back.

"Exorcizamus te," he says, shoving one demon against the wall and dumping salt down it's throat.  
"Omnis immundus, spiritus omnis, satanica potestas," he says, "omnis incursio infernalis adversarii."

Suddenly a demon throws him back against a wall, and he crashes into it before hitting the floor and throwing a stream of salt at the offending demon, and it screams when the salt hits it. He looks over to see that Gabriel is about to drive the knife into Abbadon's neck. "Gabriel, no! Exorcise her, she's using a vessel!"

Gabriel rolls his eyes and presses his palm flat against Abbadon's forehead and she screams, before trying to smoke out. Gabriel just shoves the smoke back into Chloe's mouth and throws a hand over it, and the bright white light grows brighter and then there's a sharp cracking sound as Chloe slumps to the floor, unconscious.

"What the hell was that?" Sam asks, forcing holy water down the throat of a demon.

"I killed her inside the meatsuit. The girl will be fine," he explains, zapping over towards the demon advancing on Sam and proceeding to do the same thing. The only problem is that handling the demons this way takes longer, so Sam and Dean still have to fend off the evil sons of bitches until Gabriel can take a new one. Through the din of battle, they don't hear the bell ringing for first period, and as Gabriel moves to take care of the last demon, Dean hears pounding on the door of his classroom, which is locked. He pokes his head out. It's the school administrator.

"Hi, um, how can I help you?" he asks.

"What the hell is going on in there?!" she screams.

"Ahh, the noise. I'm sorry. I invited any of my students who were interested in extra credit to come recreate the Crusades in here with me during first period, and we got a little carried away...purely recreational, I assure you."

She glares at him. "I hope you know that the only reason we haven't fired you yet is that the kids have a petition that if we fire you they'd all stop coming to school, and I'd really rather not deal with a strike."

Dean just kind of nods, and absentmindedly apologizes for the noise before ducking back into the classroom and shutting the door. It's then that his second period students walk in.

"What the hell?" one girl says, as she takes in the scene.

Soon all the other students start demanding to know what's going on. Dean jumps on top of his desk.

"Everyone shut up for a minute, I can explain," he says. It takes a moment, but everyone shuts up once the previous meatsuits start blinking their eyes open and standing up, dazed and covered in holy water burns, but unharmed.

"This is going to sound insane, but what just happened was demons. Kids, I'm gonna need you to vouch for me."

Chloe stands up and coughs, a little blood and salt coming up with it. "I know it's crazy, but he's right," she says. "There was...something evil, something named Abbadon, in me, I could hear it talking and I could see it's thoughts and it was a demon. It just came at me like this black smoke or something, and then I couldn't control what I said or did, it was insane. This...Abbadon demon started talking to Dean, about some really crazy shit that I don't even wanna try to figure out right now, and then these two guys just zapped in here out of nowhere and then he" she points at Gabriel, "was just killing the demons with white light or something."

The new kids roll their eyes. "Seriously, there's no way I'm believing that," the girl from before said.

Gabriel stands up on a desk. "Sorry, kiddos, but she's telling the truth, and I can prove it." He walks up to Chloe and lays two fingers on her forehead, and the holy water burns heal instantly. He proceeds to do the same to the rest of the kids before snapping his fingers and returning the classroom to its usual order.

"Whoa...what the hell are you?" One boy asks, incredulous. Gabriel pulls the shadow-wings trick and the room flashes brighter as the shadow of his wings shows up along the back wall.

"More of a who, less of a what. I'm Gabriel, the archangel." He snaps his fingers and a lollipop appears out of nowhere, and he starts eating it.

"You're kidding, right?" another boy says, looking at Dean. "This guy's an angel?"

"I know, hard to believe," he says. "But does everyone understand what happened here? Demons attacked and posessed the ten of you, and forced you to attack me. I called Sam, my brother, the really tall one in the plaid over there, for backup, and I guess he summoned Gabriel and the two of them teleported here with some supplies and managed to kill the demons. I hate to tell you guys, but the Supernatural is real, all of it."

"Vampires, ghosts, werewolves, fairies, demons, angels, all of it? You're kidding me, right?" one girl asks.

"Dean and I have fought all of those and more, so I hate to tell you, but it's all true. Even the angels- in fact, Dean's married to one, his name is Castiel." Sam says.

"So what, you two are some kind of monster hunters? And, Dean, you married a gay angel?"

Dean nods. "Yeah, basically. Sorry, I know it's a bit of a shock." He looks at Gabriel.

"Hey, Gabriel, I need you to wipe their memories and also the administrator's memory, and then I need you to teleport Sam and I out of here and to Angel's daycare and just leave a sign on the door saying I'm out for the day. Can you handle that?"

Gabriel rolls his eyes. "Sure, Dean-o." He snaps his fingers and instantly the classroom is empty, and when Dean checks, a sign on the door says that he's out sick and the kids need to report to study hall. He barely has time to thank the angel before they're hurtling through time and space and then they snap into reality at the daycare, where Angel is playing peacefully with a tower of foam blocks and a few other children, and they're building them into a little play castle big enough to fit them all.

"Gabe," Dean says quietly. "Are there any demons here?"

Gabe looks around for a minute. "No."  
Dean sighs. "Okay, she was bluffing. Good." He walks over to Angel.

"Hey honey," he says. "We're taking you home early today, okay? Uncle Sam is here, and a friend of ours named Gabriel. He's an angel, one of Papa's brothers, so I guess he's your Uncle Gabriel. We're gonna go get Papa and we're all gonna go on a little vacation for a while, okay?"

"Okay Daddy!" she says, and then Dean picks her up and turns to Gabriel.

"Okay, um...we never brought her in for daycare today. Make it happen, Gabe, and then snap us off to Cas' work."

Gabriel rolls his eyes. "The things I do for you people...if you didn't have a little one to look after, you'd be on your own, you know that right?"

Dean nods. "Yeah, I know. Just do it, okay? We owe you."

Gabriel snaps his fingers and soon they're standing at Castiel's work, in the front part of the bakery, not the back part where they work. Dean walks up to the desk and tells the young blonde girl working there that he needs to talk to Cas.

"Sure thing," she says, and a few moments later a rather flour-streaked Cas walks out of the back of the store the through the little swinging door in the counter. He looks around, spotting Dean, Angel, Gabriel, and Sam, and instantly his eyes widen in panic.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"Demons," Dean says. "Ten of them showed up at the school, including Abbadon. Gabe killed them all and cleaned everything up, there's no record, we wiped memories and everything. But I think we need to pick everyone up and head to the bunker, it's just not safe right now."

Cas' jaw drops. "Dean, why didn't you tell me?"

Dean shrugs. "I did. I texted you and Sam, wasn't much else I could do seeing as I had ten demons on my ass."

Cas frantically pats his pockets. "Shit," he says under his breath. "I left my phone at home. Dean, I'm so sorry."

Dean just hugs him. "It's okay, babe. I had Sam and Gabriel for backup."

Cas nods, still trying to comprehend the situation. "They...they found us. I...yeah, I guess we need to go get Amelia, and Charlie, and Kevin, and then head back to the bunker, stay there for a while until things die down."

So that's what they do. It takes a lot of convincing on Castiel's part, but Gabriel agrees to help them round up Charlie, Kevin, and Amelia, making convenient excuses and erasing trails and memories as they go, because hello, trickster. Finally, all eight of them arrive in front of the bunker.

"Should have everything you need for a while," Gabriel says. "Salt, knives, holy water, food...you guys should be able to hole up there for a while. I'll keep an eye out and if things start getting bad again, I'll let you know, but you should be able to just stay here for two or three weeks and that should let things settle down downstairs. I still don't know why I'm doing this...Dean, you owe me big-time. Take care of yourselves, okay?"

He tosses them the key to the bunker and snaps his fingers and the Impala materializes on the road next to them. "Everything you guys need is inside. I'll be in touch." He snaps his fingers again and disappears.

I hope you liked this chapter! I know it was supposed to be a bit more of an action-y chapter but I couldn't help throwing in some Destiel fluff at the beginning...sorry about that :P but anyways, this story is not over, there will be a chapter three, and most likely, some more chapters beyond that, so yay! If you guys have ideas for what you want to happen in chapter 3, go ahead and post them in the reviews, because like I said, you guys are essentially running the show now, so you, as my readers, have a lot of power over where this story goes, so please use it wisely. The only rules are no random crackfiction stuff and no smut, otherwise I'll take this basically anywhere you guys want. The updates should be pretty quick and regular, so that's something to look forward to. Thanks for reading, please review with your idea for how chapter 3 should go, and who knows, I might pick you!


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, so here's chapter 3 for you guys! A big thank-you to the lovely BowtiesAreCool456, for helping me brainstorm and essentially partnering with me on bringing this story to you guys. :) This chapter is kind of needed to get the plot going in the right direction, but after this one we can go back to you guys leaving ideas in the reviews. This is the chapter where Chuck enters the storyline, so yay. Also I am SO SO SORRY that this took SO LONG oh my god I'm so sorry school started and I just forgot this existed! I'll try to update more regularly from now on, maybe a chapter every Saturday? We'll see.

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or the characters, they belong to Eric Kripke and the CW network. I make no money from this fanfiction.

The next few weeks at the bunker were relatively quiet. Once everyone settled down, they fell into a pretty regular pattern- Sam and Kevin would spend most of the day researching what was happening on the demon front, Cas and Amelia would spend most of the day in the kitchen, with Cas teaching Amelia what he knew about baking, and Dean and Charlie would nerd out over Star Trek and Moondoor, and Angel would get traded off between them. Most nights, after she went to sleep, they would call Gabriel and he'd tell them what he knew.

It was about halfway through their second week when the news became unsettling.

Angel was asleep in Dean's old bedroom, and everyone was all gathered together in the research room at a table, with Sam's phone on speaker sitting in the middle.

"Things are quiet out here."

"So, we can leave?" Dean asks, confused by the archangel's tone.

"Hold on a second, Dean-o. Let me finish. Things are quiet, almost too quiet. It's like they're planning something. I mean, there's always something floating around on the radar- snippets, pieces, some clues as to what's going on. But right now, there's nothing, absolute radio static."

"They're freezing us out," Cas mutters. "Radio silence. It means they're planning something, and it won't be pretty."

Dean turns to look at the angel sitting next to him. "Wha-?"

Cas just smiles at him. "You forget I studied strategy, Dean. I'm a Warrior of God, I know things."

Dean just laughs. That was kinda hot...he'd have to remember that. "Okay, so they're planning something. How do we know it's related to us?"

"We don't," Gabriel says through the phone's speaker. "But who else has screwed them over literally hundreds of times? Seriously, guys. The fact that you've managed to stop an apocalypse and basically block every plan Hell's ever made with only some knives, holy water, a fallen angel and some leather jackets makes them look like a joke. And I know from personal experience that Luci doesn't like it when you laugh at him."

"You think this is about Lucifer?" Sam asks, and Gabriel sighs.

"I don't know Samsquatch, but nothing else makes sense. My guess is that they're trying to break him out of the cage as we speak. I've looked into every possibility, except that one. And it's gonna be hard work for them, all hands on deck. They would've done it a lot sooner, except Abbadon took over. By killing her, you basically created total anarchy down there, and they're looking for someone to lead them. And seeing as you two have managed to kill every single ruler Hell has ever had, I don't think anyone's stepping up to the plate. But if they manage to crack the cage, you're gonna have some seriously pissed-off Satan & Co. coming your way. And I hate to tell you, but that bunker isn't going to protect you. Granted, it will take Luci a day or two to find a new vessel, but I'm sure he'll manage. In any case, we still need to make a plan for what we'll do if those black-eyed idiots really do manage to break open the Cage."

Dean notices that Amelia, sitting next to Sam, looks terrified, and he tries to flash her a small, reassuring smile. It goes unnoticed. Kevin's just rubbing one temple with a look of "Oh god, not this again" and Charlie's practically catatonic with fear. Sam's just staring off into space, with that look that he gets in his eyes when he's forced to remember some really bad shit, and Cas has just given up and folded his arms down on the table and buried his face in them.

"What's the plan?" Dean asks, and they spend the next hour bouncing ideas off of each other, before they finally come to a conclusion. And as they say goodbye to Gabriel and they all head off to bed, they're finally starting to realize that they might make it out alive again this time, because this time, they have a plan.

It's on a rainy sunday about three weeks later when Cas and Amelia are in the middle of cooking sugar cookies while Dean and Charlie are playing Moondoor, and Sam and Kevin have their noses buried in books while Angel is drawing sigils in a coloring book at the kitchen table. That's when they get the frantic call from Gabriel.

Sam's phone buzzes in his pocket, and when he pulls it out and sees the caller ID he flips it open and puts it on speaker.

"I hate to burst your bubble guys, but you've got to leave, now. Luci's headed your way, and fast. He's got a whole army- demons, hellhounds, everything. I guess he's finally realizing that you two can survive everything, you're like goddamned cockroaches or something, I swear to God...You've got to get out of there. You don't have long. Get your stuff together, I'll be there in five minutes. But we have to hurry, it won't be long now. I'll send you guys off and then I'll stay and fight him off."

"You're joking, right?" Dean says. "Like you're gonna fight off Lucifer and his entire army."

"Hello, trickster. I almost made it my first time around. And besides, it's not like this is my first time in the boxing ring with him. You forget that I've been doing this since you guys first evolved from plankton. Don't worry about me, I have a plan. And if something happens, you've always got that magical Casa Erotica tape to remember me by. Now shut up and get moving, we've gotta get this show on the road."

Sam hangs up on Gabriel, and there's a brief, heavy moment of silence before everyone makes their way to the door of the bunker. Sam and Amelia are holding hands, as are Dean and Cas, and Cas has Angel slung on one hip, and she has her arms around his neck.

"Papa? Where are we going? I'm scared."

Dean answers her. "It's gonna be okay, baby. We've got everything all figured out. There are some bad people coming for us, so we have to move to a safer place. Don't be scared, sweetie, it's okay."

"Where are we going?" she asks again.

"We're going back home, Angel," Cas whispers. "We're going to heaven."

"Does that mean we're gonna die?" she asks, and Dean laughs and takes her into his arms.

"No, Angel. You don't have to die to go to heaven, you just have to be friends with some angels."

As if on cue, Gabriel appears out of nowhere, looking uncharecteristically panicky, and that's how they know things are really bad.

"They're closing in, we gotta go, now. Hold on tight, we're going to heaven."

And with that, they're hurtling through space at impressive speeds before crashing down in a small office, sterile white, chrome and glass.

"Thank you, brother," Castiel says, turning to Gabriel, but he's already vanished, back down to Earth to fight a battle that there's no way he can win.

Dean's still fighting to get a good solid breath of air into his lungs when suddenly the room shifts from a sterile office into a comfortable waiting room with couches and sofas, and sitting in an easy chair in front of the small group is Chuck, in flannel pajama pants, slippers, and a white T-shirt, a half-glass of whiskey in one hand.

"Well, the circumstances are less than ideal, to say the least, but I've gotta say, it's good to have you here. Don't just stand there, find a seat. Can I offer you anything to drink?"

"Teleporting into another plane of reality isn't the best feeling in the world. I think we'll all take a whiskey. Except for the little one, she'll have apple juice," Dean says, sort of freaking out that he's finally meeting his father in law, who just happens to be God, of all people.

"All right," Chuck says, passing everyone a half inch or so or in a glass tumbler. "So you guys are going to be here for a while, if I understand correctly."

Sam nods. "I think the way Gabriel phrased it was "Angel witness protection program," but he explained that the general idea was for us to stay up here for a while, until Lucifer calms down and

quits trying to murder us."

Chuck nods. "God, I really need to have a talk with him. Just because I disowned him doesn't mean he gets to murder all you humans...I mean, I know he's just jealous because he thinks I love you guys more than him, but really, I think it's time he grows up a little."

Dean just kind of stares awkwardly at Chuck. If this is God, no wonder everything's gone to hell in a handbasket.

"Uh, sorry...You didn't come here for Dr. Phil, sorry for rambling. But anyways, we'd love to have you, so I guess I'll show you guys to your rooms and you can go ahead and get settled?"

A small door appears in the middle of the wall, and Charlie walks over and opens it. It reveals a small hotel-style hallway with rooms lining both sides, four of them in total.

They start to walk down the hallway, but right as Dean is about to carry Angel through the door, Chuck taps him on the shoulder.

"Dean, could the three of you stay back here a little while? I have a lot of catching up to do, and I figured I'd start with you three."

Dean nods and jogs a few paces to catch up to Cas.

"Chuck wants to talk to us," he says, and Cas just nods, his expression unreadable, and they move back into the office.

Dean and Cas settle down on the couch, with Angel between them.

"First things first, I...I'm so sorry, Castiel. I know I really screwed things up by leaving, but I want you to know that you did an excellent job taking care of Heaven while I was away. No matter how much you think you failed, I can promise you, you didn't."

Cas' expression softens a little. "I...Father, that's a lie, and you know it. I was responsible for my brothers and sisters and when you returned, over half of them were dead by my hand. I broke open Purgatory, betrayed the Winchesters, stole 50,000 souls to use as ammunition in war, I allied with the king of Hell, I released the Leviathans, I became God and went on a rampage killing religious officials across America, and I raised Sam from Hell without his soul, and then lied to Dean about it. How can you forgive that? My sins are unforgiveable, Father."

Chuck just smiles at him sadly. "Castiel, I can't hold you responsible for what you did. It was my fault, leaving you all to fend for yourselves. I haven't been a good Father to you, to any of you. I'm sorry, Castiel. It's not your fault. It's my job to look after Heaven, not yours."

Cas just sighs. "I've been around since the dawn of time, Father. I'm old enough to be held accountable for his own decisions."

Chuck just glares at him. "And I've been around since before the dawn of time. It's in my nature to forgive, son. You've done well, you've made me proud. I know that you still hate yourself for the things you did but I forgive all sins. Come, child."

Castiel stands up, somewhat shaky, and Dean almost feels like he shouldn't be here. What's about to happen seems almost too personal for his eyes. He looks away.

"It's all right, Dean," Castiel says. "I've chosen to share my life with you and this is a part of it. I don't mind if you see, in fact, I'd prefer if you stayed here with me."

Dean just nods. He hadn't even said anything about feeling uncomfortable, Cas just knew. It was one of the wonderful things that came with marrying an angel.

Cas crosses the room towards Chuck, before kneeling at his feet and beginning to pray. Dean just looks on as Chuck starts to glow with a bright white light that seems to absorb Castiel, and the light makes the room feel warmer. The high-pitched keen of angel-timbre voices fills the room, and Dean's about to cover his ears when the noise ceases altogether. Cas stands up, blinking back tears, an expression of pure, unbridled peace and happiness spreading across his features. Chuck wraps his arms around him, hugging him tightly, and then he says softly in Cas' ear "I told you, son. I told you that you would be forgiven."

"Thank you, Father," Cas says, before blinking several times, taking a deep breath, and rubbing the back of his hand across his eyes to brush away any tear overspill. He makes his way back to Dean, and he takes his place on the couch, grabbing Dean's outstretched hand and interlacing their fingers together, smiling brightly at his husband. "Thank you, Father. That meant...everything to me."

Chuck just nods. "I know, Castiel. You have been forgiven. Your soul is blessed and I have erased all your sins. You are holy once more."

Cas just nods, and Dean breaks out grinning, knowing how much that meant to Castiel. Though he didn't show it, the sins he had accumulated over the years had been weighing heavily on him, and to be so thoroughly forgiven by his father must mean the world to him.

"Dean, would you like to be forgiven?" Chuck asks. "I mean, kind of a family tradition, but it's a bit personal, so I don't mind if you refuse."

Dean looks to Castiel, who's still smiling. Cas laughs and squeezes Dean's hand gently. "If you want to, Dean. I won't feel bad if you decide you don't want to. But if you do decide you want to...it would mean a lot to me."

Dean smiles. "No pressure, huh?"

Cas laughs.

Dean lifts Angel off his lap and hands her to Castiel. She hasn't said a word, she's just staring at everything with an enormous amount of interest, her eyes open wide with curiosity. Dean stands up, clears his throat nervously, and smiles back at Castiel before crossing the room towards Chuck.

When he's standing about a foot away from God himself, he makes awkward eye contact with him for a second before he kneels, clasping his hands, closing his eyes, and bowing his head. He can't really think of anything to say. After a second he clears his throat and says "Umm, should I be thinking about anything in particular?"

Chuck laughs. "I've been told it helps to just imagine the floodgates opening to everything that you've ever felt bad about."

Dean sighs softly and closes his eyes again, his thoughts traveling to the dark corners of his mind. He imagines opening a gate and letting a sea of bad feelings and stored-up guilt pour out. It overflows, drowning him, and then a second later, it's all gone, replaced by blissful white light. He hears Chuck's voice in his head.

"My child...you have done enough. You've helped many people in your life, you've gone far. I know sometimes you doubt yourself and your purpose, but you have made a name for yourself. You are forgiven. You will always be the Righteous Man. Your soul is pure, not dirty and broken as you believe. You don't let down the ones you love, I know you think you do but you are wrong. You are loyal to your family and you would do anything for them, Dean. And yes, child, you are enough for Cas. He will never stop loving you. All your sins are forgiven. Let the light in to cleanse your soul, child."

Dean breathes deeply and imagines letting the gates in his mind back open, and a rush of cleansing white light floods in, scrubbing every inch of his mind clean, restoring tarnished memories to full capacity and washing away the bad, leaving only the good at the forefront of his mind. Dean relaxes and falls towards that warm, white light, it's so warm, he just wants to get lost in it...

"Open your eyes, Dean."

Dean blinks open his eyes and the first thing he notices is how...clean he feels. Pure. For the first time in a long time, there is no doubt, no guilt, no negativity. Chuck smiles at him and opens arms. Dean moves into the hug for a moment before stepping back.

"I...thank you, Chuck. That was...thank you."

Chuck just smiles. "You're welcome, Dean. All is forgiven."

Dean smiles and shakes hands with him briefly before moving back to the couch with Cas, and Chuck settles down in the chair behind his desk once more.

Cas turns to him, smiling. "Thank you, Dean. That meant a lot to me. You did perfectly."

Dean nods and moves closer to Cas, who wraps an arm around him. Angel smiles up at Dean, having finally adjusted, it seems, to the strange situation.

"Do I have to go too?" she asks, cocking her head a little in an adorable way that reminds Dean of his husband.

Cas smiles. "No, baby. You don't need to be forgiven, there's nothing to forgive."

Chuck gets up from his desk, bringing over a small box of apple juice. He sits down cross legged on the floor in front of the couch.

"Hello, Angel," he says. "I don't think we've really been introduced. I'm Chuck. I'm Castiel's father."

Angel smiles brightly and gets down from the couch to go accept the apple juice and sit down on the ground next to him.

"I know," she says. "My Daddy said you were God, and you're my Grandpa. We're in heaven right now, and I don't know if I like it. It's just a boring room, I thought it was clouds and angels and harps and stuff. Papa told me angels have wings but I haven't seen any."

Chuck laughs. "Yeah, sweetie, I guess I am your Grandpa. This isn't the only part of Heaven. There are clouds and harps around here somewhere, this is just my favorite place up here. And angels do have wings. You just can't see them because you're not an angel."

Angel pouts. "Well, my name's Angel and my Papa used to be an angel, isn't that close enough? I wanna be an angel."

Chuck laughs. "I think we might be able to arrange that. Dean, Castiel, would you be alright with me granting her a...temporary visitor's pass of sorts?"

Cas laughs, and Dean has no idea what's going on, but Cas just smiles and says "Yes, Father, I think she would love that."

Chuck smiles and looks at Angel. "Angel, would you like to be an angel, just while you're here?"

Dean looks at Cas, confused. "He can't actually do that, right?"

Cas smiles. "He'll just give her some angelic characteristics. She cannot become an actual angel, Dean, she has no Grace."

Angel grins and starts jumping up and down and clapping her hands. "Yes, yes, yes please, I wanna be an angel Grandpa Chuck! Can you please make me an angel?"

Chuck laughs. "Okay." And with that he snaps his fingers and a pair of small, fluffy pale pink wings appear on Angel's back, streaked with dark gray and black feathers. She feels the weight of them on her back and frantically looks over her shoulders. When she sees them, she lets out a small squeaking noise and tackles Chuck with a hug.

"Thank you Grandpa Chuck, this is the best thing ever! I have wings, I'm an angel!"

Chuck just smiles and peels her off of him, picking her up and lifting her back into Dean's arms. A few moments later, Angel figured out how to move her wings, and within seconds she's flapping them this way and that, and Cas spends the better part of an hour teaching her how to use them. Before long, she's flapping around the room about two feet off the ground, laughing and smiling as she zips around the room.

Cas smiles at Dean. "Father must have given her an advantage. Those wings are much too small to actually carry her but they're just sized perfectly for her to manage. And she can actually fly with them without much training. It takes most angels the better part of a decade to master flight."

Dean smiles and pulls him in for a hug. "Your dad is pretty awesome, babe."

He feels Cas grin against his shoulder and plant a small kiss there. "I know."

Angel's shrieking giggles as she flies right over them break them apart, and Chuck reaches up and catches her, depositing her safely into Dean's arms. "She's wonderful, Dean. And I just wanted the both of you to know that I support you wholeheartedly in everything you do. You never really asked, Dean, but you have my blessing anyways with Castiel anyways. You picked a good man to marry, Castiel. I'm proud of both of you, and I'm glad we got to talk today. It's been nice catching up with the two of you, and Dean, welcome to the family. I have business to attend to, though, so I think I'll have to cut this off now. But Dean, and Angel, since you've got a veteran with you, you're welcome to roam Heaven as you wish. I'm sure Balthazar and Anna will stop by as soon as they're free-"

"Wait," Cas says. "Balthazar and Anna? I thought...they're dead, Father. Balthazar by my own hand."

Chuck smiles. "Did you honestly think I would let you get away with that? No, Castiel, I've resurrected both of them. They're alive, for the time being at least, and I'm sure they'd love to stop by and meet Angel. And before you even ask, Cas, I've already spoken with them, and there are no hard feelings between you. Like I said, all is forgiven. And Dean, Cas...if you, by any chance, want to go and search for your Grace...I'm sure one of them could watch Angel for you."

Cas sighs shakily. "Is that...is that a good idea, Father?"

Chuck shrugs. "I don't see why not. You're up here, after all, and that's the safest place I can think for you to do it. Not to mention that you're a lot closer than you were on earth, so maybe you might feel the pull, or perhaps a summoning spell would work up here."

Cas nods. "Thank you, Father. If I have your blessing...tomorrow I'd like to take Dean and see if we can find where Metatron is keeping my Grace."

Chuck just smiles and gives Castiel a quick hug. "I hope you find it, Castiel. You're welcome among our ranks if you do. I know it would mean the world to you if you could get it back."

Cas just smiles and takes the squirmy, wing-fluttery Angel from Dean's arms. "Thank you, Father. For everything."

Chuck smiles and snaps his fingers and the door to the hallway with the hotel rooms appears once more. "You're welcome. We need to do this more often. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm being paged."

And with that, he disappears from the room and Dean and Cas make their way down the hotel room hallway until they get to their room, Angel fluttering along behind them.


	4. Chapter 3 and a half

Ahh so Chapter 4 is in the works, it'll be here in a day or so, max. But this little idea came to me and I wrote it up quickly and seeing as logically it falls next in the plot, I decided to post it as a little mini baby bonus half-chapter to tide you guys over until Chapter 4 gets here. Here there be Destiel cuddles!

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or its characters, all rights go to Eric Kripke and the CW Network. I make no money from this fanfiction.

Later that night, Angel was sleeping peacefully in her little bed, her pink wings twitching in her sleep every now and then, snoring lightly. Dean and Cas were still awake, laying under the covers and just talking.

"So, we're going to find your Grace tomorrow," Dean says, ruffling Castiel's hair slightly.

He felt Cas smile against his chest, where his head was resting. "Correction. We're going to try to find my Grace tomorrow, Dean. No guarantees."

Dean sighs. "I know, it's just...we need to find it. You're not...you without it."

Cas lifts his head up to turn and glare at Dean. "I'm still the man you married, Winchester. Watch your tone. I can exist just as well with my Grace as without."

Dean rolls his eyes. "You know that's not what I meant. Don't you want it back?"

Cas sighs. "I...a part of me does, but the other part of me isn't so sure."

Dean's eyes flash with worry. "What? Why?"

Cas sighs again, taking a minute to compose his thoughts. Dean knows from experience that he only does that when he has a delicate subject to bring up and he doesn't wanna piss Dean off. He's thinking of the most eloquent way to phrase whatever he wants to say.

"Being an angel has its benefits. Wings, being able to smite demons, being able to heal...when I find my Grace again, I'll be able to protect you better, both of you. But at the same time, living as an angel was...complicated. We're naturally predisposed to take orders, we're stiffer in our mannerisms, emotions almost get a smoke screen over them, they're much harder to read and identify and experience. Being human was...simpler. And yes, as much as I want my former glory back, I don't want...I don't want to become more closed off as the result."

"Cas...is this your roundabout way of saying that while you wanna be a total badass again, you're afraid that we'll lose the wonderful touchy-feely dynamic we've got going on?"

Cas laughs. "Well, when you phrase it like that, it sounds stupid. I guess I've just gotten used to being human and I'm a bit anxious about the thought of going back. That is, if we can even find my Grace at all. And...was I hallucinating, or did that sentence imply that I'm only badass when I'm an angel?"

Dean laughs. "Sorry, Cas. Wings equal at least 25 more badassery points."

Cas smiles and leans up to kiss Dean gently. "You can't wait until I have them back, can you?"

Dean smiles into the kiss. "Nope."

Cas rolls over after breaking the kiss, snuggles deeper into the small nest of pillows and blankets he had built himself. "I hate to break it to you Dean, but you do realize that once I get my Grace back, my wings have to grow back in."

Dean wraps his arms around Cas, kissing the top of his head. "Mm. How long will that take again?"

He can almost feel Cas rolling his eyes. "It depends. Probably about a week."

Dean's jaw drops. "Seriously, that fast?" He had been expecting months or maybe even years.

Cas chuckles. "Yeah, and for good reason too. If it took any longer we'd never get anything done."

Dean frowns. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Cas just laughs. "You'll see. Goodnight, Dean."

"Goodnight, Cas."

Yay for bonus baby half-chapters! Chapter 4 is in the works, it will be up very soon, a day or two at most. I'll be updating like the wind since I left you guys waiting for Chapter 3 for so long, I have to make it up to you guys :P Next chapter will have Balthazar, Anna, Mary, Bobby, Ellen, and Jo. And about Cas' mysterious comment about his wings...what do you think he's hinting at? ;) Let me know in the comments!


	5. Chapter 4

Here's Chapter 4 at last, I'm incredibly sorry it took a bit longer than I expected, classwork has been crazy lately. But here it is, finished and completed, and Chapter 5 is on the way soon! Anna and Balthazar are in this one, btw, and Chapter 5 will be up before the end of the week. My co-writer BowtiesAreCool456 is back, so that will help smooth the process along now that I can bounce ideas off of her, and I now have a plan to extend this into at least 10 chapters total, so the ficcy goodness will keep coming for quite a while still :) Shoot me a review and tell me how you think the story's coming along! Or you could mention some stuff you'd like to see happen, there's a pretty good chance it'll make it in there somehow.

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or it's characters. Superneatural and it's characters belong to Eric Kripke and the CW network. I make no money from this piece of fanfiction.

When Dean wakes up, Cas is already dressed, and he's helping Angel into a little pink dress and black leggings, her hair arranged into two neat pigtails.

Dean blinks several times and then hauls himself out of bed, running a hand through his hair.

"How are you up so early?" he asks, stretching slightly. Cas laughs.

"Dean, I'm back in my hometown. It's a good way to wake up."

Dean just laughs and hugs Cas before heading into the bathroom. He showers quickly before brushing his teeth and shaving, and then he gets dressed in jeans and a gray t-shirt and his boots and hunting jacket, slipping Sam's amulet over his head and putting on his watch. He walks back into the bathroom where Cas is just pulling on his own leather jacket and helping Angel fit her wings through the two small slashes in the back of her dress. He smiles at Dean.

"These things are a pain. Regular wings are much easier to manage- we can fold them into our backs or just phase them out of the physical plane altogether and carry them on our backs as a wavelength of light. It's a lot easier to deal with."

Dean just laughs and helps him wiggle Angel's second wing through the slash before scooping her up and setting her on one hip, her arms around his neck.

"Morning, Daddy," she says. "Having wings is hard cause I had to sleep on my side instead of my back."

Dean chuckles and kisses her on the cheek. "I can imagine, Angel. You hungry?"

She nods. Dean runs a hand through his hair and looks around the room. "Is there breakfast somewhere, Cas? I mean, you're the one who knows what you're doing here."

Cas laughs. "Yep. As long as we're up here you're stuck with me. Chuck stopped by around twenty minutes ago to tell us that there was breakfast down the hall. Everyone's supposed to show up around nine. He said he told Balthazar and Anna to meet us there."

Dean grins. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Cas just laughs and opens the door, and Dean follows him out into the hallway, Angel still slung on his hip.

"Can I fly there, Daddy?" she asks, and Dean laughs. "Yeah, I guess. Fly free, Angel bird."

Angel giggles and unfolds her wings, flapping them a few times before jumping out of Dean's arms and catching the air with her wings. She zooms around the two of them, overhead, before Cas points them in the right direction. She flutters on a few feet ahead of them, near the ceiling, and Cas reaches for Dean's hand and laces their fingers together. Dean just smiles and moves closer to wrap an arm around Castiel's shoulders as they walk. Normally that doesn't work, and it never has in Dean's past experience with girls- the differences in height make for little stumbles and staggers that make walking that way difficult. Cas is the absolute perfect height for it.

They reach a small white door at the end of the hallway, and Cas opens it to reveal a little room with a long breakfast table that seats 12. Sam and Amelia are already there, as are Chuck, Kevin, and Charlie. Chuck's claimed the head of the table, and he calls them over.

"Dean, Castiel, Angel! There you guys are. Pull up a chair, breakfast is almost ready. Castiel, a few of your siblings will probably be joining us, I hope you don't mind. Anna and Balthazar. They're on their way."

Cas nods and the three of them settle down across from Sam and Amelia, Angel sitting in between them. They've just settled down when there's a sharp cracking sound mixed with the fluttering of wings and the smell of rain. Dean turns to see Balthazar, standing behind Cas. Almost everyone jumps out of their chair to go greet him. Cas gets there first.

"Balthazar," he says, hugging him briefly. "I'm sorry I murdered you. It's good to see you again."

Balthazar just smiles and hugs Cas back. "It's not the first time it's happened, Castiel. It's good to see you too. I told you that he would come around."

Dean frowns, confused. "Who?"

Balthazar laughs and Cas blushes. "You, Dean," he says, smiling a little. "Cassie here pined away after you for quite some time. Welcome to the family, Winchester."

Dean smiles and hugs the angel. "Thanks. I take it you haven't met our daughter?"

Balthazar grins. "Angel? We haven't formally met, but Heaven won't shut up about her."

Dean hands her to Balthazar, and she looks at him suspiciously. "Your wings are really pretty, Uncle Balthazar. They're silver, I like them. Are you my Papa's brother?"

Balthazar laughs and sets her down gently. "Your wings are rather pretty too, Angel. And yes, I'm Castiel's brother. Did Chuck give you your wings?"

Angel nods. "Yeah, but they're just temporarity, though. I have to leave them here when we go back to Earth."

Everyone laughs at her cute mispronunciation. They spend the next few minutes catching up with each other before suddenly the air cracks again and Anna's standing next to them.

"Sorry I'm late," she says, tossing her red hair over her shoulder. "I've missed you all. Come here, Castiel."

Cas gives his sister a hug before stepping back and smiling at her. "It's good to see you, Anna. I'm glad you're back."

Anna smiles back at him brightly, the corners of her eyes crinkling slightly. "It's good to see you too, Cas. Come here, Dean. I heard you two got married! Congratulations, welcome to the family, Winchesters."

Dean laughs and hugs Anna for half a second before stepping away quickly. It's only a little awkward knowing that you've screwed your husband's sister before you were a thing. Anna, seemingly sensing his thoughts, rolls her eyes and glares at him. "Grow up, Dean. Get your mind out of the gutter," she says quietly, so only he can hear. Dean laughs, she's right.

Angel flaps over and starts playing with her hair, and Anna spins around to see her.

"Hey, baby girl! What's your name?" she asks sweetly, scooping Angel up and giving her a hug.

"My name's Angel. My daddies are Dean and Castiel. Are you my Aunt Anna?"

Anna laughs and kisses her on the cheek before letting her free to fly around again. "Yep, that's me. That's a beautiful name, Angel. And I really love your wings, they're very pretty. Are they from Chuck?"

Angel nods, petting the air behind Anna's back. "Yeah. But I have to give them back when I go back to Earth. Your wings are very pretty, Aunt Anna."

Anna laughs and moves one of her shoulders, probably moving her wing out of the way to keep Angel from molesting it too much. Dean can't really tell though, because he can't see wings other than Angel's. "Thank you, Angel. What different colors can you spot?"

"Well, they're like the color of bread, white like that, but there's light pink all over them and some light gray too and a few feathers have black tips."

Anna smiles. "Very good! How old are you, sweetie?"

"4," Angel says, holding up four fingers while she flies over to Balthazar and starts touching his wings too. He looks somewhat irritated and he moves out of the way slightly.

"Sam, it's good to see you again," Anna says. "I don't think I've met the rest of you though, I'm sorry. Would you mind introducing yourselves?"

Charlie, Kevin, and Amelia step towards her slightly. Kevin goes first.

"Umm, I'm Kevin Tran, and I'm a prophet. I'm the one who decoded the Demon and Leviathan tablets."

Anna smiles and shakes hands with him. "Oh, yeah, you're THE Kevin. Pleased to meet you, I'm Anael, but please call me Anna."

Kevin nods and Charlie clears her throat nervously. "I'm Charlie Bradbury. I helped Sam and Dean take down the Leviathans. Pleased to meet you."

She shakes hands with Charlie. "I'm, uh, Anna, but I guess you already knew that...thanks for the help with the Leviathans, though."

Charlie bites her lip and rubs the back of her neck a little. "Oh, umm, no problem."

Amelia shakes hands with Anna, smiling warmly. "I'm Amelia, Sam's wife. Pleased to meet you, Anna. Heaven's a nice place."

Anna laughs. "Thank you, we try. Pleased to meet you too. Sam, your wife's a bombshell. Now, Chuck, you said there was breakfast somewhere, and if you were lying I'm gonna be pissed because I just came from Australia, some hunters summoned me to help them deal with fifteen demons, and I'm starving."

Chuck laughs and they all get settled down at the table once again before he snaps his fingers and a delicious breakfast appears in front of them on the table. They spend the meal catching up, and once everyone's done, Chuck snaps his fingers again and the mess is gone. Suddenly, he gets a curious look on his face, and he turns to Sam and Amelia.

"You mentioned that you wanted kids, right? How is that going?"

Amelia smiles a little. "Umm, it's been a bit of a struggle, but we're still trying."

Chuck nods. "Sam, if it's all right with you...could I maybe help you guys out with that at all?"

Sam looks freaked out for a second, not quite grasping what Chuck is offering, but then his face lights up when he gets it. "You mean...you'd mojo things along for us?"

Chuck nods, smiling. "Yeah, if you guys are cool with that. I mean, if you want kids then I can help make it easier for you guys."

Amelia smiles. "I think I'd like that."

Chuck laughs and snaps his fingers and then he smiles at Amelia. "That should clear the problem right up. Good luck, you two."

Sam smiles and kisses Amelia on the cheek. "Thanks, Chuck. Having God in the family has its perks."

Dean clears his throat. "Umm, so while we're up here, Cas and I thought we could try to go and look for his Grace. Anna, Balthazar, if you wouldn't mind watching Angel for a few hours while we look around for a while?"

Anna nods. "Sure, yeah, that's perfectly fine. I wish you the best of luck, Castiel. My suggestion would be to poke around for anything warded against angels. I mean, we're in Heaven, it wouldn't make sense for anything to be warded against Angels. If you do find something with the right warding spells on it, it would have to be your Grace. I don't know, that's just where I'd start."

Cas gasps. "Anna, I...I am so stupid, I hadn't even thought of that. That makes perfect sense, Anna! If you all don't mind, I think we're going to go start looking right now. Breakfast was wonderful, Chuck. It's been good seeing you all."

The table says their goodbyes and then Dean and Cas excuse themselves and head back out into the hallway. Cas snaps his fingers and then suddenly the area around them shifts into a massive library filled with angels.

"Cas, how did you do that?"

Cas smiles. "I don't have to have Grace to know how to manipulate Heaven, Dean. I'm not technically 100% human, I'm still technically a fallen angel. This place recognizes me. Now come on, we have work to do."

Cas approaches a small blond angel working behind the desk, and she points him towards a certain shelf of books. Cas leads Dean over to it and within fifteen minutes he's apparently found what he's looking for. He sits down at a small table and cracks open the large, dusty book, locating the right page within moments.

"Here it is. How to locate something warded against angels using spellwork. Some of these are going to be a little difficult to find, though, which is the bad news. Some of it's easy- lamb's blood, the proper herbs, an elk antler. But then we also need the scapula of a saint and blood from a male and a female angel, some blood from a nephilim, and the blessings of four righteous souls of the deceased. We're going to need help from an actual angel for some of this. I say we head back and get Balthazar to help us find the proper ingredients."

Dean nods, still reeling from how much progress they had made so quickly. Cas grabs his hand and within seconds they're standing back in the breakfast room. Dean notes that as opposed to the normal horrible twisting, whirling sensation of teleporting with an angel, this is more like the scenery around them just changes while they stay still. Cas must be taking Heavenly shortcuts or something.

Sam and Amelia have left, and Anna and Charlie are still sitting at the table, coloring sigils with Angel. For some reason, ever since she was old enough for Dean to teach her a few basic ones, sigils have been Angel's favorite thing to draw. Kevin has his nose buried in a book in the corner while Chuck is gone, he must have gone back to his office for meetings.

Anna turns to see Castiel and Dean, and she smiles "Did you find the right summoning spell, Castiel?"

Cas nods, carrying the book over to the table and pulling up a chair next to his sister. "Yes, but some of the ingredients are rather rare. I think we might need your help."

Anna smiles and ruffles Cas' hair. "Of course, Castiel. Let's take a look and see what we need."

Dean sits across from them while Anna and Cas go through the list, with Anna occasionally disappearing and then reappearing with the proper item. Within the hour they have the lamb's blood, the required herbs, and the elk antler. The scapula, or shoulder blade, of a saint takes a little longer, but Anna returns with only a few scrapes and her hair only slightly mussed, holding the bone between her hands. For the blood of a female angel, she contributes a few pinpricks of her own into a small vial, and then she reappears a few moments later with some of Balthazar's in a similar vial. The (willingly-given, of course) blood of a nephilim takes quite a while, upwards of an hour, but Anna eventually returns triumphant. By now the light coming in through the stained glass windows of the breakfast room is growing dimmer, and Charlie and Kevin left to go put Angel down for her nap a long time ago.

Finally, they're down to just the blessings of four righteous souls. Which, judging by the phrasing alone, is vague as hell and certainly open to interpretation.

They've been discussing how best to go about that for the past twenty minutes. Finally, Anna chews her lip, deep in thought, before saying "You know, I think you should probably just mix the rest of the stuff and take it with you and go find four righteous souls and then have them verbally bless it and just say "I give my blessing." That should work, right?"

Cas nods. "Theoretically yes, now the only problem is where we're going to find four righteous souls."

Anna scoffs. "In case you haven't noticed, we're in Heaven. There's not exactly a shortage. Dean, any ideas?"

Dean nods. He's been thinking for the past few minutes and he's come to a conclusion. "Bobby was righteous, right?"

Cas nods slowly before breaking out into a full smile. "One of the more righteous souls I've seen, yes. Of course, he still doesn't hold a candle to you, Dean, but he should work. And I know he's here, so he shouldn't be hard to find."

Dean smiles. "Does that mean that we get to go visit Bobby?"

Cas laughs and reaches for Dean's hand. "I think it does. And while we're at it...Dean, would you like to visit your mother?"

Dean's face drains of color a little, and he swallows thickly. "I...mom? Is she..."

Cas just smiles softly. "If that's all right with you, Dean. I'd love to meet her."

Dean smiles. "Did this just turn into meet the ghost parents?"

Anna and Cas laugh, and then Anna brings up a good point. "Mary's soul is insanely pure, Dean. You could get a blessing from her, too. And really...meeting your mom, for the first time...that's an experience you deserve, Dean. Maybe you should go tomorrow and take Cas with you, if you're going to be visiting your family. I'm sure they'd love to meet him."

Dean exhales slowly and takes Castiel's hand in his, lacing their fingers together. "Okay," he says, somewhat shakily. "We'll go visit mom."

Ahh yay so Chapter 4 is done, finally! I know it took a while and I'm sorry, my classes have been keeping me really busy lately. But the good news is that my co-writer BowtiesAreCool456 is back, so chapters should be coming a bit faster now that I can bounce ideas off of her :) I know I promised Mary and Bobby and Ellen and Jo this chapter and they didn't quite get here, this just seemed like such a good stopping point I'm so sorry...but they WILL be here in the next chapter, I can promise you. If you wanna talk to me on tumblr my URL is drunkangelkisses, blog title is Oh My Chuck, so drop by/follow/shoot me an ask if you feel like it! I post Supernatural and Hannibal, social justice posts, and miscellaneous funny things. Chapter 5 will be up before the end of the week, pinky promise.


	6. Chapter 5

I am so sorry it took so long! I was busy because of reasons (details in the author's note at the end of this chapter.) But here is Chapter 5 for you guys, in all its glory! JO AND ELLEN AND MARY AND BOBBY ARE IN THIS CHAPTER, PRAISE CHUCK HALLELUJAH. I really like writing them so this chapter was a field day for me, and it's a really long chapter, so I hope you guys like it. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Supernatural it's characters belong to Eric Kripke and the CW network. I make no money from this piece of fanfiction.

Dean's woken up by Cas shaking his shoulder gently. He blinks open his eyes and waves him off, muttering something about needing coffee and shuffling into the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, he's dressed and ready to go, and he rejoins Cas back in the main part of their hotel room. He walks up behind Cas, who's busy making coffee, and wraps his arms around him.

"Morning, babe. Where's Angel?" he asks.

Cas smiles and turns around with two cups of coffee, handing one to Dean. "I already dropped her off with Anna and Charlie about an hour ago. I decided to let you sleep in."

Dean glares at him, sipping his coffee. "Cas, it's like 5 am."

Cas shrugs. "We have a busy day ahead of us, Dean. Getting up a little earlier than normal seemed like a good idea at the time."

Dean laughs and gives him a quick kiss before slugging down the rest of his coffee. "Whatever you say, babe. All right, are we ready to go?"

Cas nods, searching around for the small bag containing everything they need for the Summoning spell.

"I think so. All right, who do we want to visit first?"

Dean bites his lip, weighing possible answers mentally before responding. "Umm, I'd say Ellen and Jo, if that's okay with you."

Cas shoots him a bitchface. "Dean, we're visitng your dead family. I hardly have a say in how today's going to go."

Dean laughs. "Oh, thank you, Cas, you're just so considerate. C'mon, we're going to be late for Thanksgiving with my family on Graveyard Street."

Cas rolls his eyes. "You know that's not what I meant, but okay. Let's go find Ellen and Jo."

An hour later, after asking around and obtaining a roadmap of sorts to the Harvelle's section of Heaven, Dean and Cas are walking on crunching gravel towards a tricked-out Heavenly version of The Roadhouse. The parking lot is filled with cars, loud music plays from the inside, and people are bustling everywhere.

Dean wraps his arm around Cas' shoulders, and they make their way through the door. When they arrive at the bar, Ellen is pouring someone a shot of whiskey and Jo is sweeping the floor in a corner. Ellen turns to hand the customer his drink and her eyes catch sight of Dean and she gasps, dropping the glass on the floor. It shatters, and she grabs a small dustpan and broom.

"Dammit Winchester," she says. "What did you in this time?"

At the sound of his name, Jo turns around and sees them, promptly dropping the broom and sprinting over to the bar.

Dean laughs. "I'm still kickin', Ellen. Good to see you too."

Jo practically crushes Dean with a hug. "Wait, so if you two are alive, how are you here?"

Cas reaches for Dean's hand and laces the fingers in his own. Jo glances down and notices the movement. Her eyes widen, and then she smiles.

"Dean, you son of a bitch, I can't believe it," she laughs, and Dean laughs with her.

Ellen finishes sweeping up the broken glass behind the bar and she straightens up. "What's all the ruckus about?"

Dean smiles at her. "Ellen, Jo, meet my husband, Castiel Winchester."

Ellen smiles. "Ohh, that's wonderful! Congratulations, you two."

Cas smiles. "Thank you, Ellen."

Jo cuffs Dean on the shoulder. "Bit of a surprise, Winchester. But congrats anyways. How long have you two been married?" She hops up so she can sit on the surface of the bar.

Cas answers. "Thank you, Jo. Four years, actually."

Jo laughs. "Niiice. I never thought of you as the type to bat for your own team, though, Dean," she says, teasing him and ruffling his hair.

Ellen glares at her, muttering a quiet and stern "Jo Harvelle, be polite," before turning to Dean and Cas. "I'm sorry, she's being a dick. Congratulations, the both of you."

Dean rolls his eyes. "It's okay, Ellen. And Jo- I don't, not really. I guess I just kinda made an exception for Cas. He's special."

Jo smiles sweetly, making the love sign with her hands. "Awww! Okay, I give up, you two are way too adorable. I can't handle it. I'll stop teasing you now."

Cas laughs. "It's all right, Jo, we don't mind. It's good to see you again."

Ellen ducks behind the bar and comes back up with four beers, handing one to each of them. "I'm sorry, I've been a horrible host. Here, have some booze. So, what brings you two here anyways, if you're both still warm-blooded?"

Dean laughs. He contemplates what to say, deciding to leave out the Lucifer side of things. They're in Heaven, they don't need to handle his depressing mortal crap. "I...shit, it's just a lot to explain. Long story short, Cas lost his Grace a few years back and we haven't been able to find it since. We're closer than we've ever been, we have a spell that we think will work. We know it's hidden somewhere in Heaven, so that's why we're up here. Somewhere along the way this kind of turned into meet the parents, I got to meet my angel family, and Cas gets to meet all my deceased relatives."

Jo grimaces. "Cheery. Is there any way we can help?"

Dean nods. "Yeah, actually, that's part of why we stopped by."

Cas explains. "We have everything we need for the spell besides the blessings of four righteous souls of the deceased."

Ellen takes a swig of her beer. "Where the hell do you guys even find this crap? Depressing, much?"

Dean laughs. "Yeah, sorry. We just figured that we were up here anyways, so we might as well come and visit you two and get your blessings while we were at it."

Jo snorts. "Not exactly righteous over here, Winchester."

Cas finishes the rest of his beer. "Actually, your souls are particularly righteous. You're forgetting the fact that you sacrificed yourself to save the rest of us by volunteering to blow yourself up."

Jo smirks. "Certified suicide bomber, at your service."

Ellen wipes down the bar with a wet dishrag before coming out from behind it and taking her place on a barstool. "How can we help?"

A few minutes later, Cas has combined all the ingredients for the spell according to the enochian instructions in a wooden bowl, and then he hands it to Jo.

"What am I supposed to do?" she asks, and Cas sighs.

"Honestly, I don't know. I think you just give verbal permission and say "I give my permission for Castiel to locate his Grace."

Jo shrugs. "Worth a shot." She holds the bowl closer to her face and speaks clearly into it. "I, Jo Harvelle, Righteous Deceased Soul, give my permission for Castiel to locate his Grace."

The contents of the bowl start to glow a faint blue color. Jo gives an excited squeal and passes the bowl to her mother.

"I, Ellen Harvelle, Righteous Deceased Soul, give my permission for Castiel to locate his Grace."

The bowl glows brighter, and Ellen passes it back to Cas.

"I'd offer you to stay for a drink, but I think you two have more righteous souls to visit."

Dean nods. "Yep. We'll miss you two, though."

Jo hugs him, and Ellen gives Cas a quick hug. "We'll miss you guys too," she says.

Cas smiles at the both of them. "We have a daughter, by the way. Her name is Angel Mary-Ellen Winchester, and we adopted her four years ago."

Jo's jaw drops. "Aww, you guys have a kid? Okay, seriously, get out of here, your cuteness is giving me diabetes."

Dean laughs. "She's a beautiful little girl. I'm sure she'd love to meet you."

Ellen glares at him. "She damn well better. You named your kid after me, and if you don't bring her up to visit soon I will personally come back and haunt your ass."

Dean and Cas laugh. "We'll bring her by soon," Cas says. "As soon as I get my Grace back, I promise we'll come by with Sam and Amelia."

"Who's Amelia?" Jo asks, sipping her beer.

"Sam's wife," Cas answers.

Ellen sighs. "Damn, Jo, we're really out of the loop. Sometime soon, you two have got to come visit us and bring the whole gang. We can have dinner and get caught up or something."

Dean nods and hugs Ellen. "Okay, Ellen. That sounds wonderful, we'll be sure to stop by soon."

A few more rounds of hugs and goodbyes later, Dean and Cas are leaving for Bobby's patch of Heaven. Castiel does his freaky warp-the-heavens business and then they find themselves standing in front of Bobby's house on a cold winter morning. Dean jogs up to knock on the door, and Cas follows.

A few moments later, the door swings open, and a rather pissed-off Bobby holding a sawed-off shotgun answers.

He pokes his head out to see who's at the door, and when he sees Dean and Cas, he jumps back a little before lowering his gun.

"Is it...is it really you, Dean?"

Dean nods. "Yeah, Bobby. Original Winchester make and model."

Bobby sighs and opens the door. "Come on in then ya idjits, no use standing out in the cold."

Cas smiles and follows Dean inside the considerably warmer house.

Bobby grabs a beer from the fridge. "You want some?" he asks, turning to look at his guests.

Dean shrugs. "Nah, we're good."

Bobby shrugs, squinting curiously at Dean. Turning down alcohol was something he never did and it seems shockingly out of character.

"If you say so. So, how did you two get knocked up here this time?"

Cas laughs. "We're both still very much alive and well, Bobby."

Bobby looks confused. "If you're alive, then how the hell are you in my heaven?"

Dean chuckles. "After you died, another angel tricked Cas and stole his Grace for a spell that threw all the angels out of heaven. It's taken a lot of work but they're all back safe and sound, except for Cas. We've been looking for his Grace, but now we're actually getting close. We figured we'd come up here to try and find it, and plus, I could sort of meet Cas' family."

Bobby looks even more confused. "Okay, you lost me. I mean, the angels squabbling is nothing new, but meet the family? What in the flying heck is going on here?"

Cas smiles and Dean puts his arm around his shoulders. "Cas and I have actually been married for almost four years now, Bobby."

Bobby squints at them skeptically again before breaking out grinning.

"Dammit, Winchester. I owe your brother twenty bucks."

Dean and Cas laugh and then Cas reaches for Dean's hand. "Yeah, well. It's been a long time coming."

Bobby laughs. "That it has, boys. Welcome to the family, Castiel."

Cas smiles graciously. "Thank you, Bobby."

"How's Sam?" Bobby asks, settling down behind his desk.

"He's good," Dean answers. "Him and Amelia have been married for three years and they're trying for a baby."

Bobby grins. "God, I thought you two would never settle down. I'm proud of you idjits. Speaking of babies, is that something you two want?"

Dean grins. "Yeah, actually, we have a daughter, she's four."

Bobby smiles. "Dear God, I've missed out on so much. Tell me about her. What's her name?"

Cas smiles and settles down next to Dean on the couch. "Angel. Angel Mary-Ellen Winchester. We officially adopted her the night we signed the papers at the courthouse. She's a real tiny thing. Blond, green eyes. Dean says she has my smile. I think she has his eyes."

Bobby almost looks like he's tearing up, smiling wide. "She sounds wonderful, Cas. You better bring her up to visit sometime, okay? Come bring her to visit her Uncle Bobby."

Dean chuckles. "Okay, sure. But what do you mean, uncle? You're her grandpa."

Bobby's eyes widen. "You...you really mean it?"

Dean smiles. "Yeah, I do, Bobby. You were more of a dad to me than John ever was. It's only fair."

Bobby heaves himself up from behind his desk and walks over, crushing Dean in a hug.

"I've missed you, boy," he says, "You need to visit more often. Amd congrats. You chose a fine piece of ass to get hitched to."

Dean laughs. "I've missed you too, Bobby."

They break apart and Bobby gives Cas a quick hug before settling back down behind his desk.

"You talked about needing to find Castiel's Grace. Any way I can help?"

Dean looks at Cas. He seems to have the gist of explaining the whole we-need-the-blessings-of-some-dead-people thing.

"Yes, Bobby, there is a way you can help. It's part of why we came to see you. See, we figured that when we're in Heaven we could search for whatever's warded against Angels, because that wouldn't make sense. We think that my Grace must be the only thing angel-warded in Heaven. We found spellwork to locate what's warded against Angels and the last ingredients we need are the blessings of four righteous souls of the deceased."

Bobby snorts. "Well, good thinking Sherlock, but I'm about as righteous as a hooker."

Dean laughs. "You're actually pretty righteous, Bobby. The angels say so."

Bobby rolls his eyes. "If you say so. All right, how do we go about this?"

A few minutes later Bobby is holding the bowl, its contents still glowing faintly with pale blue light.

"So how exactly do I do this?" he asks, raising his eyebrows and readjusting his hat.

Cas clears his throat. "I think you just say your name and that you're dead and then you say you give yoru permission for me to locate my Grace."

Bobby shrugs. "Okay. Worth a try."

His hand slips and he almost drops the bowl, but he catches it just in time. "Balls!"

Dean laughs. "Try to hold on to it, huh?"

Bobby glares at Dean, holding the bowl slightly closer to his face. "I, Bobby Singer, Righteous Deceased Soul, grant my permission for Castiel to locate his Grace."

The bowl glows even brighter blue. Bobby hands it back to Dean. "Glad I could help. Who else blessed it? It was already glowing."

Cas takes the bowl from Dean. "Ellen and Jo. They both gave their permission, we stopped by them first."

Bobby smiles. "What did their Heaven look like?"

Dean chuckles. "The Roadhouse on a busy weekend."

Bobby nods. "Makes sense. Listen, you boys better be on your way. But promise me sometime soon you two will stop by again? With Sam, and Amelia, and Angel?"

Cas nods. "Ellen and Jo wanted the same thing. I think we should try to organize a reunion of sorts. You, me, Dean, Angel, Sam and Amelia, Ellen, Jo...everyone. We should all get together and catch up."

Bobby smiles. "I'd like that. Now you boys be on your way, okay? Look after yourselves. Tell Sam to bring his wife up for a visit one of these days."

Dean hugs Bobby one more time before breaking away smiling.

"We'll be back soon, with Angel. Okay, Bobby?"

Bobby nods. "Okay. Now get out of here before I kick you out, you idjits. You have a job to do and piddling around here isn't gonna get it done."

Dean laughs. "You're right. Bye, Bobby."

Bobby waves before shutting the door, and then when Dean blinks they're standing in front of their old house in Lawrence.

"...Is this...is this Mom's heaven?" Dean asks, looking around. It felt warm outside, summer maybe?

Cas nods. "Yes, Dean, this is Mary's section of heaven. For most people, their heaven is a recreation of the place they felt safest in their life."

Dean nods and swallows thickly, shoving one hand in his pocket and the other into Cas's hand, twining their fingers together. "Cas, I...say something. I'm freaking out and I've got half a mind to run away screaming and I need you to convince me to stay."

Cas speaks quietly. "Dean, what are you really afraid of here?"

Dean sighs. "I...I don't know, Cas. I'm scared Mom's gonna realize that Dad brought Sam and I up in the life the way he did and I don't wanna disappoint her."

Cas squeeze his hand. "Whose fault is that, Dean? Yours? Or your father's?"

Dean just sighs. "I guess. Let's just get this over with, okay?"

Cas leans his head on Dean's shoulder. "If you don't want to, you don't have to, Dean. This is...kind of a sensitive matter. We're going to visit your dead mother and it's the first time you've seen her since you were a child."

Dean visibly winces. "If you're trying to make me feel better, playing the orphan card doesn't really help, Cas."

Cas just laughs. "Sorry."

Dean sighs. "Okay, we really need to just get this over with. This is pathetic."

Cas laughs again. "All right, Dean. Whenever you're ready."

They stay there, standing in the street, for a few moments longer before Dean releases Cas' hand and strides confidently up to the door. He rings the doorbell as Cas catches up to stand beside him.

They hear footsteps from inside and a second later the door swings open, and Mary is standing inside, her hair slightly damp like she had showered recently, curling softly around her shoulders, wrapped in a fluffy white bathrobe.

"Um...how can I help you?" she asks, and Dean just kind of swallows nervously.

Mary stares at his face for a second longer before gasping, raising up one hand to cover her mouth.

"Oh my god," she says. "Dean?"

Dean nods stiffly, blinking a few times, his eyes feeling puffy and prickly in that uncomfortable pre-cry way. "Hi, mom," he says.

Mary laughs and wraps her arms around him, squeezing him tightly before releasing him and stepping back inside the threshold of her house.

"What are you waiting for," she says. "Both of you, come inside!"

Dean and Cas step inside, and she leads them all to a couch in the living room, and she sits down in a rocking chair across from them.

"I...I just don't even know what to say," she says. "I mean, how are you here? Please don't tell me you're dead. You're too young to be dead."

Dean just glares at her. "Really, mom? I'm older than you are, technically."

She wrinkles her nose. "Eww. How old even are you? How's Sam, how's John?"

Dean clears his throat. "I'm 40. Sam is 36. We're both good. Dad is...he's...he took the elevator down instead of up. If you know what I mean."

Mary's eyes widen. "I...hell? First of all, how do you know about that? How did you...no, no, you were supposed to grow up normal..."

Dean bites his lips. "I'm sorry. After you left, Dad...He started trying to figure things out. He was determined to figure out what came after you, and...he raised us in the life."

Mary lets out a broken little half-sob noise. "No, no...oh, God, Dean, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, he didn't...I don't...you weren't supposed to grow up that way, Dean. He robbed you of your childhood, and I am so, so sorry."

Dean shrugs. "Nah. He died trying to bargain for my life. Made a deal with a demon, and the next thing Sam and I know is I'm back and he's face-down in a ditch. He died trying to protect us, if it's any consolation."

Mary sighs. "He was always so goddamn stubborn. I'm really sorry, Dean. I guess that means you know everything, then."

Dean nods. "Yeah, I do. He trained us well."

Mary nods, staring off into space for a moment. She snaps back to attention and turns to Cas.

"I'm sorry, I've been a terrible host. Erm...pardon me asking, but...who are you?"

Cas smiles. "It's perfectly all right, Mary. My name is Castiel, I'm an angel, and I've known your son for the past nine years."

Mary smiles. "Son of a bitch. I always told you there were angels watching over you, Dean."

Dean smiles. "You were right. He, um...I made a deal to save Sammy and Cas is the one who dragged me outta hell again."

Mary glares at him. "Seriously, Dean? First John, and then you? Oh my God, I seriously should have stayed around to haunt your asses."

Dean smiles. "Yeah, well. He's my brother and it's kinda my job to look after him. Sam and I...we've been through the wringer. Long story short, Sam's girlfriend burned on the ceiling, we ganked the son of a bitch who killed you, we've both died twice and been to hell once, Sam was banging a demon and he became a demon blood junkie for a while, we defeated Lucifer and the apocalypse, Sam didn't have a soul for a year, we accidentally unleashed the army of the oldest monsters alive, the Leviathan, and then we had to put them back again, Cas and I spent a year in Purgatory, we're on a first-name basis with the king of hell, I was best friends with a vampire, I've met Death, and we started a rebellion in heaven and accidentally cast all the angels out of heaven."

Mary just stares at his, her eyes wide and unblinking, her jaw lowered slightly, looking almost shell-shocked. Dean clears his throat. "But, um, back to Cas. He's, um, he's actually my husband. We've been married for almost four years now."

Mary's smile lights up her entire face. "Ohh! Dean, you honest to God married an angel. That's wonderful news, I'm so happy for you."

Dean smiles back at her. She...she accepted him. She was okay with it. I mean, all rational parts of him knew that she would, but somehow he knew that his Dad wouldn't be so warm and fuzzy about it, so maybe he associated that with his mom and was subconsciously expecting rejection. Or maybe it was the fact that his mother burned alive on the ceiling when he was five years old. He wasn't quite sure.

"Thanks, mom. We, um, we actually have a daughter, Angel. Her full name's Angel Mary-Ellen Winchester, she's four, we brought her home the day we signed the courthouse papers. Curly blond hair, green eyes. Cas's smile. She's beautiful, you'd love her."

Mary smiles, biting her lip. "She sounds perfect. I'm so happy for the both of you."

Cas nods. "Sam's doing well too- he's really tall, 6 foot 4. He's married, a really nice girl named Amelia, has been for three years. They're trying for kids."

Mary gasps happily, a little laugh of excitement and joy. "He...really? You two grew up in the life and still managed to turn out happy...I guess I should give John a little more credit. I'm so proud of you, both of you. You turned out to be wonderful people. I'm very sorry I couldn't be there to see you grow up."

Dean sighs. "Thanks, mom. It took a while, but yeah, we turned out all right in the end. We, um, we actually need your help, though. See, Cas kind of lost his Grace, and we know it's in heaven but we're trying to find it. We found a spell to figure out where it is and the last thing we need is your blessing."

Mary raises her eyebrows. "My blessing? That seems kinds sketchy, but okay. Whatever you need, boys."

Cas passes her the bowl. "I think you just say your name, state that you're righteous and deceased, and that you give your blessing for me to find my Grace."

Mary shrugs. "Okay. Does it have to be in Latin or anything?"

Cas shakes his head. "No, I don't think so. And...Mary? Thank you, for helping me find my Grace. It's...extremely important to me, and I just wanted to let you know that Dean turned out so pure and essentially good that he fullfilled a centuries old prophecy and heaven calls him the Righteous Man. When I went down into hell to save him, his soul was this bright, pure, white light in this giant hole of smoking, flaming darkness. And...it's been an uphill battle, but I want you to know that I have personally heard the King of Hell refer to your boys as "denim-wrapped nightmares," and I think that really says something about their character."

Mary just smiles before getting up and walking over to hug Cas. "You're wonderful, Castiel. Thank you for being there for the boys. Welcome to the family."

Cas just smiles and hugs her back before she settles back down in her chair and holds the bowl.

"So, um, here goes nothing," she says. "I, Mary Winchester, Righteous Soul of The Deceased, give Castiel, Angel of the Lord, permission to locate his Grace."

The bright light of the bowl glows even brighter, the blue light washing over Mary's features and making her pale face look ghostly and ethereal. She passes the bowl back to Cas, as the room starts to rumble and shake slightly, a buzzing noise like the voice of angels filling the small living room.

"You come and visit again, you hear me?" Mary says above the noise. "Bring everyone. Castiel's family, Sam, Amelia, Angel. It's awfully lonely up here all by myself. Tell Sam I love him. Now you'd best hurry because I think that spell of yours is about to blow up my heavenly zip code and I'd hate for that to happen. Now go!"

Cas grabs Dean's hand and the noise grows deafening as the room around them swirls until they're standing in what appears to be a warehouse and the sound cuts out abruptly. In the middle of the enormous, empty concrete warehouse is a single pedestal bathed in a spotlight from above, holding one small box.

Ahhhh so there's Chapter 5, finally. I'm really sorry it took so long, I had to write an essay on Gender Roles in Classic British Literature and it was being absolutely horrible but I finished that so I could get back to fanfiction, and here it is for you guys, complete in all its glory! I really liked writing Jo & Ellen & Bobby & Mary. I promised they were coming, and here they are! Sorry for the cliffhanger, by the way, but this chapter was getting too long and it just kinda seemed like a good stopping point. What's in the box? Cas' Grace, of course! Chapter 6 should be up relatively shortly, so that's good news, four or five days tops. If you want to stop by on tumblr, my URL is drunkangelkisses. Asks, follows, reviews, favorites, PMs, fanmail- pretty much any form of digital interaction that lets me know that you guys don't think this fic is total crap helps the chapters keep on comin'.


	7. Chapter 6

Oh my god, okay, I am so, so, so, so sorry this took so long to write...please forgive me? I had algebra and chem tests and I had to debate on the causes of the Civil War and my animation project was due, it was like this horrible perfect storm of assignments and school sucked up all my time. I was also making a masterpost by request from a tumblr anon on Supernatural Season 9 Spoilers and figuring out what was rumor and what was true, and that ended up taking forever and a half because I had a ton of research to do, but I finally enough free time to write this chapter, so my apologies again...but here it is!

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or the characters, all rights go to Eric Kripke, Jeremy Carver, and the CW Network.

Dean hears Castiel's sharp intake of breath at seeing the small box in the warehouse. "That...that's my Grace, Dean. I can feel it."

Dean breaks out grinning. They'd finally found it, after so long. Dean takes a step towards the pedestal in the center of the room before Cas' arm flings across his chest, stopping him.

"Wait," Cas says. "I doubt Metatron would have just left it in plain sight like that, and besides, the spell was supposed to take us directly to it. That's over fifty feet away."

Realization dawns on Dean. "Do you think there's some kind of trap and the spell took us just outside of it?"

Cas nods. "It's more than likely. Here, let me find something to throw."

Cas fishes the slightly blood-encrusted scapula out of the spell bowl and throws it so it skims across the floor almost halfway to the pedestal. They wait ten seconds and nothing happens, so Cas tentatively takes a step towards the center of the room, and still nothing happens. Cas lets out a sigh of relief.

"Dean, I think we're okay, it seems like-" suddenly Cas is cut off as the floor starts to quake slightly and a ring of holy oil appears on the floor around Cas. Dean panicks and grabs Cas, lifting him out and over the circle of oil right as it bursts into flames. Dean slings the smaller man over his shoulder and full-on sprints towards the box. He's about twenty feet away when a commanding voice in Enochian plays through the small room, echoing off the walls, chanting something over and over again. Castiel begins thrashing in pain and whimpering, and Dean has to tighten his arm around him to keep from dropping him as he finishes his run to the pedestal and grabs the wooden box under one arm. The voice suddenly stops and the room starts to vibrate, the grimy windows of the warehouse rattling in their panes, a high-pitched buzzing noise not unlike the voice of angels fills the air. Cas panicks and scrabbles out of Dean's hold before grabbing his hand and suddenly the scenery around them ripples and changes and soon they're standing in a garden or park of some sort.

Dean turns to Cas. "Holy shit, Cas, what was that?"

Cas takes a deep, shuddering breath and opens his eyes, releasing his white-knuckled grip on Dean's hand. "Traps. The bone didn't set them off because it was based on spellwork and calibrated to only work on humans or angels."

Dean nods. "Okay. You sure it wasn't Metatron?"

Cas squints. "No, I'm positive. I couldn't sense any other presences there, just us. Consider it an burglary alarm system of some sort."

Dean chuckles and pulls Cas in for a tight hug. "I'm just glad we made it. Is that a thing you can normally do? Sense...presences?"

Cas laughs and pulls away. "No, I've only been able to up here. More of Heaven recognizing me as its child, I'd assumed. Thank you, Dean."

Dean raises his eyebrows skeptically. "For what?"

Cas laughs. "For saving my ass back there, you assbutt."

Dean smiles. Cas always said that and it was always unbelievably cute. He leaned forward and captured Castiel's lips in a brief kiss before Cas shoved him off, rolling his eyes.

"Not here, Dean. We're in the heaven of an autistic man who drowned in his bathtub. Dampens the mood a little. Now give me the box."

Dean laughs and is about to hand Cas the wooden box when he pulls it back suddenly. "Warded against angels, remember? It might hurt you if you touch it."

Cas nods. "You're right, I forgot. Here, you open it."

Cas takes his hand and leads them over to a park bench and Dean sits down next to Cas, turning the small box over in his hands, looking for the latch to open it. He finally finds them- five of them. He pops each one open with the help of a fingernail, leaving the last one closed.

"Before we open this, maybe give it the once-over and make sure there's nothing nasty stored in here with it, Cas?"

Cas nods, squinting at the Enochian on the box. After a moment he clears his throat. "No, I'm only seeing warding symbols, no curses or anything. It should be safe to open."

Dean nods, and he's about to pop the last seal when he turns to Cas again. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Cas takes a deep breath and nods. "Yes, I'm sure. I...I'm ready to be an angel again, Dean."

Dean smiles and gives Cas a quick kiss on the cheek before popping the last latch open. The lid of the box springs open and inside, nestled on a little bed of cotton, is a little vial of glowing, swirling blue light corked and strung on a chain. Dean lifts it out of the box and turns to Cas, closing the box and setting it on the bench next to him. "How do we get this back where it belongs?" he asks.

Cas sighs. "I honestly have no idea. Metatron removed it by slitting my throat and drawing it out, but I have no clue how to get it back in. We should go ask Chuck."

Dean nods, folding the chain and vial carefully into Castiel's palm. Cas gently loops it around his neck before tucking it under the collar of his shirt. He stands and reaches for Dean's hand, and Dean takes it and Cas helps pull him up off the low-to-the-ground bench. Suddenly the heavens are spinning around them again, and when Dean's vision clears, they're standing in the breakfast room, where everyone is present and they seem to be having dinner. Angel springs out of her chair and runs over to hug their legs.

"Daddy, Papa! You're back! Did you find your angel parts?"

Dean grins, kneeling to scoop her up. "We sure did, princess. Your Papa's gonna be an angel again."

Angel squeaks with happiness and Dean hands her to Cas, and she plants a sticky kiss on his cheek and hugs his neck before squirming a bit and demanding to be put down. Cas sets her down and Sam and Amelia walk over, and Amelia gives Cas a quick hug while Sam smiles at Dean and gives him a hard, quick hug. "I'm glad you guys managed to find his Grace. He's been missing it for a long time."

Cas nods, smiling at Sam. "I certainly have. Thank you, Sam."

Cas is suddenly crushed by the force of Anna and Balthazar hugging him at once while Charlie runs up from her place at the table and practically tackles Dean. "Omigod you found it! Way to go, guys!" she giggles before finally letting Dean go. "I'm proud of you two. Congrats on the wings, Cas."

Cas grumbles something that may have been a hybrid of "Unfortunately, I don't have those back quite yet" and "Dammit, you two, get off of me," Dean wasn't quite sure. But Anna and Balthazar release him and everyone settles back down at the table while Chuck stands up, smiling, apparently amused at his children's roughhousing. He walks over to Castiel calmly before hugging him quickly.

"Welcome back, Castiel. I'm very proud of you. And Dean, thank you for helping him find his Grace again. As soon as dinner's over you two can meet me in my office and I'll help you put it back where it belongs. Gabriel should be here any minute now."

Castiel's eyes widen, and Dean huffs out a breath of shock. "Gabriel?" Cas says. "He...he made it?"

Chuck scoffs. "Of course he made it. For all the show they put on, those two have been fighting like cats and dogs since the dawn of time and Luci's never quite got the hang of it. Have a little more faith in your brothers, Castiel. Now come on, you two. Dinner's getting cold."

Dean and Cas laugh and Cas reaches for Dean's hand as they head to their places at the table. There are two empty spots between Sam and Angel, and Cas takes the one next to Sam while Dean sits next to his daughter.

Dinner is relatively uneventful, but right as the meal draws to a close there's the thunderous crack of wings and the scent of ozone in the air. Gabriel is standing by the door to the room, a bit bloodied up, but he snaps his fingers and a second later he's back to normal.

"Miss me?" he says sarcastically as he plops down next to Kevin in the last available seat.

There's a chorus of "Oh my god, you made it's" and "We're glad you're back's" and Gabriel smiles.

"Nice to know my presence is appreciated. Let's just say Luci's gonna be on bedrest for a while. He had the entire army of Hell, but I had a billion clones of myself fighting him while I hid in a tree in a nearby forest. Honestly, the hardest part was cleaning up afterwards. Seriously, when is he gonna grow up and realize that hellhounds can't beat archangels? Honestly, if he wasn't trying to blow up the world every few decades, I'd be offended. Now, what did I miss?"

Cas grins. "Not much, besides me finding my Grace."

Gabriel grins. "Cassie, you found it! Congrats, bro! I bet you're looking forward to growing your wings again."

Cas blushes a rather adorable shade of embarrassed pink and glares at Gabriel. Gabe laughs. "I'm just teasing, brother. But seriously, congrats. I'm happy for you."

Cas nods his head a little. "Thank you, Gabriel."

Gabriel snaps his fingers and a plate of food appears in front of him and he finishes it almost alarmingly quickly. In fact, it would have been alarming if he hadn't just spent the last three days fighting the Devil. Chuck waves the table clean once everyone's finished, and then one last round of celebratory hugs and claps on the back before everyone sort of meanders away to do whatever it is they were doing before dinner interrupted. Dean and Cas follow Chuck back to his office and Angel flaps along beside them, still thoroughly enjoying her wings. Once they get inside the room, Chuck sits Angel down in a corner with her beloved, dog-eared sigil coloring book, a box of crayons, a box of apple juice, and a pair of headphones connected to an iPod before heading back across the room to where Dean and Cas are waiting on the couch.

"Before you get your Grace back, Castiel, we have a few things to talk about. First of all, your wings."

Cas cocks his head slightly. "What about them?"

Chuck grins. "Well, do you want original make and model or version Hellscorched 2.0?"

Cas takes a deep breath, worrying his lower lip between his teeth, thinking for several long minutes before answering his father.

"I'd like them back burned, please. It's a better reminder of everything I've been through."

Chuck smiles. "You made the right decision, Castiel. They're a badge of honor, and they represent your struggles and sacrifices better than your old ones. They suit you. Now, on an entirely different matter...Cas, would you like me to make Dean capable of seeing your wings?"

Cas blushes fiery red before clearing his throat. "I, um...yes, Father, that would be...nice. If you don't mind."

Chuck laughs. "I'm sorry, I know it's embarrassing, but Dean just looks so confused right now."

Cas turns to look at Dean before he bursts out laughing with Chuck.

Dean frowns. "What's so funny? Why is me being able to see your wings embarrassing?"

Chuck sighs. "Dean, wings are...rather personal. Angels sometimes help each other groom their wings if they're close friends, and it's viewed as platonic, nothing more. Like teenage girls messing with each other's hair. But when an angel's wings are touched by their mate, they serve...different purposes. Do you catch my drift?"

Dean blushes and nods, clearing his throat. Did Chuck mean what Dean thought he did?

"Umm, yeah, I do. Anything else I should know about angel...courtship?"

Chuck laughs. "Yeah, probably. When Angels are growing out their wings, it's basically the closest thing they have to human puberty. Meaning Cas is probably gonna be really pissy, horny, and hungry, and he'll basically want to sleep all the time."

Dean laughs at the image of pissy adolescent Cas. "Thanks for warning me, Chuck. How long should it take, again?"

Chuck shrugs. "About a week, give or take. Now, Cas, are you ready to get your Grace back in working condition?"

Cas is still blushing a fiery red and staring off into space. He seems to have checked out on the conversation because it was too embarrassing. Dean laughs and waves a hand in front of his face, shaking his shoulder slightly.

"You can come out now, Cas. The worst is over."

Cas grumbles something snarky filled with more than a few cuss words before glaring at Chuck and sighing. "All right. If we're done discussing the...alternative purposes of wings, I'd like my Grace back now."

Chuck laughs. "Cas, I invented everything. Including sex. Now come here, let's get your Grace back where it belongs, shall we?"

Cas nods and huffs slightly, still a bit irritated, as he stands up and walks over to Chuck, slipping the vial off from around his neck and handing it to his Father. Chuck takes an Angel blade and draws a thin line across Castiel's throat, and Dean almost jumps up, panicking, before he remembers what Cas said about Metatron. Chuck uncorks the bottle and whispers a few words of Enochian over the vial before guiding it back gently into Castiel's body without touching it, mentally. As soon as the last tendrils of blue light are back inside the angel, Chuck presses two fingers to his throat and the wound immediately closes, all the blood disappearing. Castiel opens his eyes, and somehow, they're just half a shade brighter. Chuck beckons for Dean to come over, and when he does, Chuck instructs him to close his eyes while he murmurs an Enochian phrase to him, and when Dean opens his eyes, he blinks a few times before thanking Chuck and leading Cas back to the couch.

"How exactly does this seeing wings thing work?" he asks.

Chuck shrugs. "You should only be able to see Castiel's, once they start growing in. But I'll warn you, when they start growing in they can be a bit unpredictable. Moving on their own, knocking crap over, sometimes they get growing pains. You're gonna have to help him through it a little, I'm not gonna lie. Imagine going through all of your teenage years in about an hour and you sorta have how it is for angels."

Dean nods. "All right, thanks Chuck. Look, we'd better get going, it's getting late and it's time for Angel to go to sleep."

Cas grumbles something rude and Dean elbows him in the ribs.

Cas turns to glare at him. "Ow, what the hell was that for?" His voice has just that extra note of deep angel timbre and Dean gasps a little, having forgotten just how...intense Cas used to be.

He clears his throat. "You should probably tell your Dad thanks for helping you get your wings back."

Cas sighs and rolls his eyes. "Thank you, Father," he says, only a little bit snarkily, and Dean picks up Angel and grabs Cas by the hand, leading them all back to their hotel room. This is gonna be one hell of a week.

Okay I'm sorry this took so long, I just got swamped. And I am sorry about the whole wing-regrowing-angel-puberty thing I just really wanted an excuse to write snarky Cas and also there will be wing rubs in the near future but nothing detailed enough to warrant a rating change, this is gonna stay at T for now. Thanks for reading! Friendly reminder, my tumblr is drunkangelkisses, and if you wanted to stop by and say hi or drop me an ask or something that's perfectly fine :) if you wanted the link to the Supernatural Season 9 Spoilers Masterpost I mentioned at the top, just go to my blog and click the "20 things you should know about Season 9" link in the sidebar and that'll take you there. Thanks for reading, Carry On Wayward Sons!

6 DAYS UNTIL SEASON FINE OH MY CHUCK


	8. Chapter 7

Okay guys, I am seriously sorry this took so long. School was basically giving me a mental breakdown and I apologize a billion times over. Math was making me want to backflip into the sun and school was just generally being terrible. But Chapter 7 is finally done, so here you guys go. :) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Supernatural and its characters belong to Eric Kripke, Jeremy Carver, and the CW network. I make no money off this work of fanfiction.

Chuck hadn't been kidding when he said that regrowing wings was a pain. Cas had been irritable, grumpy, sarcastic, and tired for the past five or six days. Dean forgave him though, because he knew it probably hurt like a bitch, and Cas was also sort of adorable with scraggly half-wings poking out of his shoulder blades.

Dean was just getting back from dropping Angel off with Charlie and Anna, who had volunteered to take her for the day so that he could have a day off to relax with Cas. Cas was on his fifth or sixth day of regrowing his wings, meaning that each wing was around six feet long at the moment, and Cas had to keep them folded into his back to avoid them knocking into things, which apparently was even more irritating than usual because it felt better to have them out free.

Dean opens the door to their hotel room to find Cas still in bed, muttering something that sounded vaguely like Enochian swearing while flipping through TV channels. Dean kicked off his shoes and made his way over to the bed, settling down next to Cas, being careful not to bump his wings.

Cas smiled at him. "Hey," he said, turning over on his side and nestling himself next to Dean, his head resting on Dean's chest. Dean carefully wrapped an arm around him.

"Hey yourself. Your wings look like they're almost done growing, babe."

Cas craned his neck to look back at them. "I think so, yeah. Another day or two at the most. Which is good, considering that it still hurts like hell and at this point I'm tempted to just tear them out of my back and then set myself on fire."

Dean chuckles, pressing a small kiss to Castiel's temple. "You'll get through it, babe. I promise. You're a badass. Go take a tylenol or something."

Cas groans. "Wish I could," he says. "Those don't really work on me anymore."

Dean grimaces, remembering that pain medicine and alcohol don't really work on angels. "It's gonna be harder to get you drunk then too, isn't it?"

Cas laughs. "Probably. You, on the other hand, are still entirely susceptible to the effects of alcohol."

Dean raises an eyebrow. "Is that a threat?"

Cas chuckles, pressing a soft kiss to Dean's collarbone through his shirt. "Maybe."

They lay there quietly for a while before Cas speaks up again. "It's just frustrating, not being able to use my Grace yet. Normally I'd just neutralize the pain with that, but I can't use it yet."

Chuck had warned Cas about using his Grace before his wings were fully grown. The conversation had included quite a few words and phrases in Enochian that Dean hadn't picked up on, but Cas had later explained it to him as "My wings are the physical extension of my Grace. If my wings aren't fully grown, that means my Grace hasn't fully taken yet, it hasn't been accepted by my body...or vessel...I guess body. What I mean is that using it before my wings are grown could cause my body to reject it entirely."

Dean runs his fingers through Cas' hair asentmindedly. "I know, but you'll be able to soon."

Cas sighs. "I know. My wings are killing me though. They feel like they haven't been groomed in centuries."

Dean raises an eyebrow. "You can feel that?"

Cas glares at him. "Yes, dumbass. It's like...I guess it's like when you can just kind of _feel _your skin's dirty, like after a hunt, or when your hair is tangled and messy. They just feel dirty and itchy and knotted and all the feathers are going the wrong way and on top of all that it hurts like a bitch."

Dean tightens his arm around Cas' waist a little. "Is there any way I can help? I mean, would it maybe feel better if I just kinda groomed them for you?"

Cas thinks for a moment before smiling up at Dean. "Yeah, actually, that would be nice. I think if they just felt clean and all the feathers were pointing the right way it might not bother me that much. I've straightened out the parts I can reach, but it's a bit harder without my Grace..."

Dean smiles at Cas and maneuvers them both to a sitting position, moving himself to sit behind Cas on the bed. "Okay, umm, I have literally no idea what I'm doing here, so you might need to talk me through this."

Cas laughs. "Okay, well first I need to go get some stuff, I'll be right back."

Dean hums an agreement before planting a kiss on Castiel's shoulder as he gets off the bed and disappears for a moment, reappearing just a second later holding a few items in his hands.

"Are you sure your...heaven-bending or whatever doesn't use your Grace?"

Cas glares at him. "No, obviously it consumes massive quantities of my Grace. That's why I was able to be so proficient at it when I was mortal. Of course it doesn't, Dean."

Dean rolls his eyes. "Jesus, I'm sorry, calm down. Now come here and tell me what I'm supposed to be doing."

Cas settles back down cross-legged on the bed in front of Dean, handing him a spray bottle filled with water, a jar of a powdery substance, a small comb, a brush that almost looks like a girl's blush or powder brush, a towel, a brush that sort of resembled a pad of steel wool, a little tin of some sort of balm-like substance, a tiny pair of scissors, and a bowl.

Cas turns to smile at him. "I'm warning you, it gets kinda tedious after a while. And believe me, it's not exactly a quick process. Just so you know what you're getting yourself into."

Dean laughs, planting a kiss between Castiel's wings. "Relax, Cas. It's not like I have anywhere else to be. Now, where should I start?"

Cas sighs. "All right. Lucky for you, you're never going to have to do this again unless for some reason you want to, because once I can use my Grace I'll be able to clean and groom them with a thought. But for now, we're stuck with doing things this way. I haven't had my wings manually cleaned like this in almost a century. First, you're going to take the powder and just kind of lightly work it into all the feathers. It soaks up any excess oil. Normally the oil serves to keep the feathers glossy, but when the wings are growing out sometimes there's too much and it can look kinda gross. You don't have to go individually or anything, you can work in sections, just get a fairly even, light coat of the stuff over most of the feathers. It helps if you get it more towards the base of each feather, by the skin."

Cas lays down on his stomach, keeping one wing folded neatly at his back and stretching the other out across the bed. Dean opens the jar of power, still not quite sure what the hell he's doing, and he sprinkles a light coating over the entire wing before capping the jar and delicately reaching forward with his hands to start working the powder in. Cas' feathers are deliciously soft, brushing against his fingers, and as he kneads through the outer layer of feathers and then in towards the soft down and finally the layer of flesh at the core of the wing, Cas twitches his back muscles slightly and shifts a little bit, and Dean pulls back quickly, nervous that he did something wrong.

"You okay, Cas?" Dean asks, and Cas turns his head to face him and smiles.

"I'm fine. It feels nice, kinda like you playing with my hair. Carry on."

Dean smiles. Cas has a thing for Dean running his fingers through his hair, frankly it's adorable, and Cas does have wonderful hair so it's not like Dean minds or anything. He moves his hands back to Castiel's wing and slowly works the powder into the feathers in small sections, quickly getting lost in the hypnotic motion of the activity and the blissed-out grin on Castiel's face. He quickly develops a good technique and works his way through that wing relatively quickly. Cas spreads the other wing and Dean proceeds to repeat the process, enjoying the occasional soft moan of appreciation from Cas as he works his way through this wing much quicker, having figured out what the hell he was supposed to do. He's about to ask what's next when he remembers that he has to do the flip side of the wings, and Castiel flips over onto his back so Dean can get the front side.

Cas smiles and looks up at him as he finishes the last patch of wing, rubbing the white powder in and down to the base, smiling faintly at the whitish cast of the feathers now with the powder added. "You're really good at this, Dean," he says, "Ill have you know that Gabriel is terrible at grooming wings. Anna, on the other hand, is not half bad, but Gabriel..." Cas shudders almost involuntarily and Dean laughs.

"Thanks for letting me do this, Cas."

Cas bolts upright and stares at him. "You...actually...like this?"

Dean shrugs. "Yeah. I don't mind, it's actually kind of nice. And your feathers are really soft."

Cas relaxes back onto the bed, smiling mischievously. "I'll have to remember that, Dean. I forgot how much better it felt to do things the manual way. I sorta missed this, to be honest. If you don't mind..."

Dean laughs. "Yes, Cas, I can sense what you're getting at and I will gladly groom your wings whenever you ask, feathers. Now, what's next?"

Cas smiles at him. "Did you just call me feathers?"

Dean smirks. "Yep."

Cas closes his eyes and somehow manages to relax into the bed even more. Dean was convinced he was going to become the bed pretty soon here if he kept that up.

"Feathers. I like it."

Dean smiles and leans down to kiss Cas chastely before playfully slapping him on the arm.

"Hey, you. Don't go to sleep on me. What's next?"

Cas hands him the fluffy makeup brush. "Now, you kinda sweep this over the feathers to get the excess power off. This step's pretty quick. Knock yourself out."

Dean experimentally sweeps the brush down a few of Cas' feathers, and Cas freaks out and his wing twitches away slightly.

"Sorry, it kinda tickles."

Dean laughs and makes quick work of the front and back of each wing, and soon they're almost black to their glossy raven color. Dean thinks that it's almost the color of his hair, maybe with a little rainbow and some extra sex appeal mixed in. Whatever it is, they're downright gorgeous.

Cas hands him the spray bottle full of water. "And this is the fun part, at least in my opinion. Basically you just spray the feathers until they're wet all the way through. They don't need to be dripping or anything, but you need to get all the way through the layer of feathers and down to the skin, so it might take a while."

Dean takes the bottle from him and proceeds to spray Cas in the face with it before getting back to work, chuckling to himself as Cas mutters something in Enochian under his breath.

Soon the front and back of one wing are soaked in the cold water, and Dean moves to the second, making quick work of it also. He got so caught up in his work that he didn't even notice the blush spreading across Castiel's neck and chest until he nervously cleared his throat.

"Hmm?" Dean asked, breaking away from the last little patch of feathers.

Cas speaks, his voice just slightly more gravelly than usual. "Notice anything...different about my feathers?"

Dean inspects them more closely. Every feather is puffed up and standing away from the wing, like a cat's fur when it's pissed or scared.

"Yeah, dude, they're all puffed up. What's wrong with them?"

Cas laughs. "Just thought I should bring that to your attention. Sometimes they do that. And by sometimes, I mean it's the number-one indicator of when an angel's horny."

Dean's eyes widen and he laughs a little under his breath. "No way. You get wing-boners?"

Cas visibly winces. "Do you have to phrase it like that? That's disgusting, Dean. What are you, twelve?"

Dean laughs. "Sorry. It's just...dude, I'm really digging the wings thing."

Cas turns to smile at him. "Really?"

Dean bends forward to kiss him. "Really. And also...are you just horny for the sake of being horny, or is that 'cause of the wings, too?"

Cas smiles. "Hmm. Well, wings are rather sensitive. For most angels, some part of the cleaning and grooming process ends up getting us kinda hot and bothered. For me, it's always been the washing. I don't know, it's just something about the cold water on my feathers. So I would advise you to hurry up and get that last part of the wing before we end up getting distracted."

Dean laughs, parting the last patch of feathers with one hand while he works the bottle with the other. Soon the entire wing is damp, and Cas draws his wings back in, folding them neatly on his back while Dean gets the towel Cas brought, and when he settles back down on the bed, Cas' feathers have decided to lay flat again instead of puffing out. Dean gently rubs both wings with the towel fully aware that they hurt like a bitch, so he's being extra careful to touch them only with light, soft rubs. When they're basically dry, he chucks the towel off the edge of the bed and turns to Cas, who has his eyes closed and is murmuring "Hey Jude" to himself under his breath. Dean snaps his fingers and his eyes blink open.

"Oh, you're done. Okay. Next, you take that brush that looks like it's made of wires, and you're going to drag it gently along both sides of each wing, from base to tip, and it's going to collect all the old or broken feather shafts. You're gonna need to clean it a lot, that's what the bowl is there for."

Dean finds the right tool and drags it up Castiel's wing from the base to the tip lightly in one fluid motion before pulling it away to inspect it. The feathers in the brush's path lok much tidier and orderly, whereas the brush is filled with the thin, hard, hollow, straw-like tubes that feathers grow out of. He starts picking the old feather shafts out and depositing them in the bowl, and then he starts again where he left of, the stripes of orderly feathers making it easy to see where he's missed a spot.

With each stroke of the brush Cas hisses slightly and winces away, almost imperceptibly. Dean stops what he's doing to lay a hand on Cas' shoulder.

"Hey, you okay?" he asks, and Cas nods.

"Yeah, I...I've never been a fan of this part. It's kinda painful. It's like...sort of the equivalent of how it feels when they start trying to pick between your teeth with the little metal hook at the dentist's office, and it makes the horrible scraping sound and you can just feel it."

Dean wrinkles his nose. "Eww. I'm sorry."

Cas laughs. "Gabriel is a particular fan of this step."

Dean raises an eyebrow. "Umm, no offense Cas, but I really didn't need to know that."

Cas laughs again. "Yeah, you're right, sorry. Consider it payback for when you kept saying "God" the first time I went down on you."

Dean rolls his eyes. "That was once, okay! And you've already claimed payback on that because if I recall, the next time we fooled around you decided you were just gonna keep saying "John" until I learned my lesson. Which I did! And besides, you should consider it a compliment, it means you're good at what you do."

Cas turns to look at him suspiciously. "Did you seriously just tell me to consider it a compliment when you slip up and start talking about my father during sex?"

Dean winces. "When you put it like that, it sounds really bad. Okay, fine, it was really bad. I'm sorry! But that's beside the point, because while we were having this lovely little conversation, I finished both your wings because you were distracted."

Cas cranes his neck to see if Dean is telling the truth. "Oh. Damn. You are good at this, okay, thank you. They feel much better already. Now, you're going to trim any uneven, raggedy edges you see with the scissors. Be very, very careful, okay? Just tiny snips along the edge of a feather, that should be all it needs."

Dean carefully inspects the wings from a few different angles before spotting some uneven feathers and trimming them slightly until they look smoother. It only needed touching up in a few places. Dean puts the scissors down and leans over to kiss Castiel's neck from his place sitting behind the shorter man, catching him off guard and startling him a little. Cas just responds by ruffling Dean's hair and tossing the comb and the small container of wax or balm back at him.

"Okay, you'e almost done. This part should be pretty short. You just get some of the wing balm on your hands and then you finger-comb through the feathers to get them all to lay in generally the right direction, and then you go back in with the comb to make sure they are all pointing the right way."

Dean scoops up a small amount of the pale, honey-colored paste, and as he slicks it between his hands he realizses it has a cooling effect on the skin. He starts at the base of the wing and runs his hands through both of them, getting all the feathers to lie flat, before he moves back in with the comb to drag it through the feathers and get them all to interlock perfectly, to lie flat and smooth along the plane of the flesh. When both wings are finally done, Cas gives them a few experimental flaps before throwing his arms around Dean and hugging them.

"They do feel much better, thank you Dean. I know grooming wings can get seriously tedious after a while, thank you for offering to help me with it."

Dean laughs, kissing Cas' hair before putting all the supplies away. "No problem, babe. Anytime. They're beautiful."

Cas blushes before folding them back along his back, his wonderful back muscles rippling under the skin slightly as he does so. Castiel's back has always been one of Dean's weak spots. He had suspected that the strong, defined muscles there came from the strain of holding up wings and flying, but now he had proof to back up his theory.

Cas was an angel. With wings. Super soft, beautiful, sexy-as-hell wings that puffed up when you rubbed them the right way, but wings nonetheless. Dean could get used to that.

Okay so I hope y'all liked this chapter, I'm so sorry that it was literally just wing grooming and I got super carried away and this is probably a really shitty, super boring chapter but I was researching wings and wings are basically hella cool and I love wings okay, and also wing grooming is extremely fun to write, also I managed to work in quite a few of my own personal headcanons about angel wings in this chapter and I managed to sneak in a reference to Misha's wonderful back muscles (thank god for episode 9x01) so overall this chapter might have been okay? I'm sorry it was so late, Chapter 8 will hopefully be here a bit sooner. If you want to say hi on tumblr my URL is drunkangelkisses, feel free to stop by :) and leave me a review to let me know how things are coming along!


	9. Chapter 8

PLEASE READ: Hey guys, good news! I got some free time to write, so here's chapter 8, ahead of time. :) Early updates for the win! Hope you enjoy this chapter. There's a heavy helping of affectionate father!Dean and father!Cas. I'm debating introducing a new ship/pairing in the next chapter, more info on that in the author's note at the end...I'm gonna need feedback from you guys on whether or not you want that. Actually I need you guys' advice on a lot of stuff pertaining to the next chapter, so read this one and then please read the end-note and leave your answers to my questions in a review. Thanks again for reading, everyone...I love you guys so much, thanks for supporting this fic!

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or its characters. All rights go to Eric Kripke, Jeremy Carver, and the CW network. I make no money from this work of fanfiction.

Dean woke up to a large, shiny black wing slapping him in the face and giving him an unfortunate mouthful of feathers. He sat up in bed, blinking and rubbing his eyes blearily as he sees Cas asleep next to him, one wing twitching slightly and the other partially unfolded. Apparently Cas moves his wings in his sleep. Good to know.

Since he got his Grace back, Cas has taken to sleeping on his stomach, at least until his wings are fully grown in again and not so sensitive. Dean gently pushes both of the wings back down into their folded position, smoothing the feathers down gently as he absently strokes the surface of one wing.

Cas blinks his eyes open, turning to smile gently at Dean before snuggling back down into the pillows and blankets. Dean presses a soft kiss to his hair before ruffling it gently, and Cas yawns and stretches, rolling over a few times before sitting up in bed.

"Good morning, Dean," he says. "Is Angel awake yet?"

Dean yawns. "I don't know, want me to go check?"

Cas nods and Dean slides out of bed and pads across the floor quietly, opening the door into the little adjoining bedroom that Angel's been staying in. She's sound asleep, her tiny chest moving up and down steadily with her breath, her blonde ringlets splayed out across the pillow. It's the cutest damn thing Dean's ever seen, and in that moment he's overcome with a heady rush of parental love and affection. He just loves her so much, he's so proud of her. She's the sweetest little thing he's ever laid eyes on, and he wants nothing more than for him and Cas to raise her up happy.

He notices that Cas has joined him in the doorway, smiling at their daughter with the same affection that's probably shining in Dean's eyes. Cas reaches for his hand and laces their fingers together, resting his head on Dean's shoulder.

"She's beautiful," Cas murmurs quietly. "Thank you for this, Dean. For everything."

Dean smiles down at Cas. "I'm so glad we decided to adopt her. She's perfect. I can't wait for her to grow up and be a badass like you."

Cas smirks at him. "Don't give me all the credit. She gets some of it from you, too, you know."

Dean laughs before cupping Castiel's jaw to kiss him gently. Cas winds one arm around Dean's waist, his other hand tangling in his hair, pulling him closer. After a moment they break apart. Castiel truly is an excellent kisser, but Dean likes to think it's because he had an excellent teacher.

Angel stirs softly, moving one of her legs and effectively kicking off the blanket. Cas walks over towards the bed quietly, hardly making a sound, as he grabs the blanket and pulls it back up over her, kissing her forehead gently before returning to the doorway, and Dean.

"She'll be waking up soon. She went to bed a little early last night," he whispers. "We should go get cleaned up so that we can go get breakfast when she wakes up."

Dean nods, following Cas into the bathroom.

By the time Angel wakes up, Dean and Cas are cleaned up and dressed in T-shirts, jeans, and leather jackets, laying on the bed together watching the news, each with a mug of coffee in their hands. Angel wanders into their room in her pajamas, clutching her blanket and teddy bear, her little pink wings fluttering behind her.

"Hey, Angel," Dean says. "Come on up."

Angel squeals with delight. Even though she's always invited up onto the bed with her parents in the morning, somehow it never loses its novelty.

Angel climbs up onto the bed with them, worming her way in between Dean and Cas on the bed, as Dean switches the television from news (which could potentially contain sad things to disrupt little minds) to an old Dragon Tales rerun, and Angel moves to the foot of the bed to be closer to the TV as she sings along to the little theme song. Dragon Tales is one of her favorites.

Cas gets up and comes back with Angel's clothes- black jeans, a pair of socks, her little pink toddler-sized converse, and a white T-shirt that says "Daddy's Little Angel" on it. Angel watches Dragon Tales while Cas wrestles her into her clothes, finally reaching her shirt and contemplating how to get her wings through it, preferably without making slashes in the back of the shirt, before finally just deciding to snap his fingers and then ease the wings through the material of the shirt. Dean frowns at him, confused.

"How the hell did you do that?" he aks, perplexed.

Cas smiles. "I just used my Grace, Dean. For the first time in five years, I used my Grace. I shifted her wings so they can phase through fabric. I'm going to do the same with mine, it's uncomfortable to have them folded under my shirt."

Dean smiles. "You...you used your Grace. It's back. Your wings are finished growing, you have your Grace back. Cas, you're an angel again!"

Cas' smile lights up the room. "I...I'm an angel again. Dean, you're right. I...I can _fly._"

Dean laughs and jumps up to hug Cas, who is practically tearing up. It's been so long, and now Cas can join his brothers and sisters as an angel again and Dean is so, so proud of him.

"I love you, Cas," he whispers against Castiel's neck, feeling more than hearing Castiel's gravelly laugh.

"I love you too, Dean."

They break apart, and Dean manages to get one chaste kiss in before Cas is shoving him off in favor of picking Angel up and hugging her.

"Daddy, daddy, Papa's an angel again! He's got his wings back! Papa, we can both be angels now! Show me your wings, Papa!"

Cas laughs and kisses her on the cheek before setting her down on the bed, shoving off his leather jacket and then taking off his T-shirt, turning to show Angel the glossy black feathers that catch the light like a gasoline rainbow. She coos with happiness and reaches up to yank a feather free. Cas spins around, glaring at her.

"That's not nice, Angel. Don't do that."

She just smiles and turns the feather over in her hands. "Sorry, Papa," she says. "I just wanted to keep one of your feathers. It's so pretty."

Cas grins. "Okay, I guess I can forgive you. They are pretty, aren't they?"

Angel nods, weaving the feather through one of her ringlets before turning back to Dragon Tales. Presently, Cas snaps his fingers and his wings ripple for a moment, before he slides his shirt and jacket back on, the wings phasing right through the fabric and folding neatly on his back. He runs a hand through his hair before scooping Angel up and carrying her into the bathroom, to brush her teeth ad fix her hair. Dean smiles, flicking off the television and placing his empty coffee cup on the nightstand. Cas has his Grace back, after all these years. And for the time being at least, 2/3 of his family are essentially Angels. And he couldn't be happier.

Cas and Angel return a moment later, Angel's hair plaited neatly in a french braid, Cas' feather tucked behind her ear. She flies right over to Dean, hovering in the air a moment, her little pink wings beating in a steady rhythm of up and down. Cas turns to Dean, smiling sheepishly.

"If, um...If you'd be all right with it, I was wondering if I could maybe...fly to breakfast?"

Dean laughs, kissing Cas on the head. "Sure, babe. Fly free. Stretch your wings." Cas smiles at him and disappears with a swoosh of wing-beats and the sharp crack of ozone in the air. Dean grins. He had forgotten that the ozone smell of Angel magic meant that Cas always smelled like rain.

He follows Angel out the door and down the hallway, arriving in the breakfast room a moment later. Cas is already seated next to Sam, who has this look on his face like he has a secret he can't wait to share. Dean knows that look, and if Sammy doesn't spill over breakfast Dean's going to corner him in the hallway and make him tell, because Sam's smile currently contains the brightness of about a thousand suns and he hasn't seen Sam this happy in a while.

Dean makes his way over to the side of the table where Cas is sitting, and Angel has already claimed the chair right next to him, so Dean takes the chair on the other side of her, essentially sandwiching Angel between her fathers. Charlie and Kevin are having a rather deep conversation about Pokemon at one end of the table, and Anna is listening patiently , apparently extremely amused, judging by the look on her face, from her spot sitting next to Charlie.

A second later, Chuck appears in his chair at the head of the table.

"Morning everyone," he calls, receiving a chorus of "Hey, Chuck" and "Morning" back. He turns to Castiel, smiling brightly.

"I see you're back to full capacity, Castiel," he says, and Cas smiles and nods.

Anna hears their conversation, and squeals happily, jumping out of her seat to run over and give Cas an awkward hug from behind. "Congrats, Castiel! They're beautiful. What's it like, finally having your Grace back?"

Cas grins at her. "It's wonderful, thank you, Anna. I'm glad to be back, Father."

Chuck smiles. "I'm proud of you, Castiel. We have a lot to discuss at breakfast this morning, but before that, we have to wait for Gabriel and Balthazar to arrive. I though I should mention that I left you with a few of your human mannerisms- you know, simple things. Sleep, eating, your sense of humor, your appreciation for sex. Also it should still be pretty easy to get you drunk."

Dean almost chokes on the orange juice he had been drinking, and Cas laughs. "Thank you, Father. I noticed that I could still sleep and I had been wondering about that. There are some things about being human that are particularly enjoyable. Food, sleep, and sex are among them."

Dean flushes an angry shade of red. It's not like this conversation is awkward at all.

Chuck laughs. "It's all right, Dean. You forget that I invented everything. Including sex."

Dean chuckles. Goddamnit, as awkward as he was, Chuck was actually a pretty great guy.

"Well, um, thank you for the Angel Cas 2.0? I'm not really sure what to say to that..."

Cas just laughs and reaches for Dean's hand. "I second that. To be honest, I was...somewhat dreading becoming an angel again. I worried that I would return to my usual mannerisms and...not be able to experience emotions anymore. Angels are designed to take orders, not question them."

Chuck just smiles sadly at Castiel.

"Of course not, Castiel. Dean has shaped your soul significantly. He taught you to feel, and to question, and frankly I'm glad. Your love for Dean has altered your very being, it's irreversible. I also like to think that you've become a lot more fun at parties, but maybe that's just me. You always were the serious one, Castiel. I'm glad to see that Dean has loosened you up a bit."

Dean just laughs. That's probably the closest to father-in-law approval he's ever gonna get. Cas smiles softly at Chuck.

"Thank you, Father. I like to think that me meeting Dean in the first place was your design, and if it was, thank you. He's perfect."

Dean almost chokes on his orange juice again. Angel families, man. This isn't the first time Cas has used not-exactly-manly adjectives to describe him (gorgeous, beautiful, perfect, etc.) but over time he's grown to appreciate them. It's not that Cas means to make him feel like a girl, it's just that it's honestly how Castiel thinks. He sees the world in terms of grace and beauty and he expresses it as such. Dean's still getting used to the philoshopy, but it's growing on him. It depends on who's asking (no way would he admit this to Sammy) but Cas is pretty damn beautiful himself.

It took Dean a while to get used to the pet names, too. For a long time, Cas was just...Cas. Nothing else felt right, even once they had started dating. It had started with angel. Even after Cas fell, that's how Dean thought of him. _My angel. _He started slipping it into conversation, offhandedly. "Hey angel, pass the pie." "Be back soon, angel." "Goodnight, angel." Cas picked up on it, and after a while, he had confronted Dean about it.

"Dean, why do you keep calling me angel? I'm human now."

"Term of endearment, Cas. It's a pet name. Like baby, or sweetheart."

"Oh. I still don't understand, though. I'm no longer an angel."

"But you used to be. And to me, you still are. You'll always be my angel, Cas."

Cas had looked up at him, peering through dark lashes. "Oh," he had whispered, a quiet hush of a word.

After that, nicknames had been easy, and they'd just sort of fallen into place. The offhand "babe" at the dinner table, a whispered "darling" late at night. And, most recently, Dean recalls, "feathers." So far, it's one of his favorites.

Dean is yanked out of his thoughts by the sharp crack in the air signaling the arrival of Gabriel and Balthazar. They both take their places at the table, and once everyone's seated, Chuck stands up and claps once, and conversation falls silent.

"Good morning, everyone. We have some stuff to talk about today. First of all, I'm pleased to say that Castiel's wings are back in working order, so a round of applause for the reinstated angel, please."

Everyone stands up and gives Cas a standing ovation, even little Angel. Sam slaps Cas on the back and murmurs an excited "Congrats, man."

Once the table falls silent and everyone is seated again, Chuck smiles brightly. "We have some other news to share. Sam, Amelia?"

All of a sudden, Sam's excited secret-keeping face makes sense, and Dean breaks out grinning at the wonderful news.

Sam and Amelia stand up, and Sam clears his throat. "We've got some pretty great news. Amelia?"

Amelia grins. "I'm pregnant!"

The table goes up in applause and excited congratulations. Sam and Amelia just look so damn happy. Dean smiles at Sam. "I'm proud of you, Sammy. That's great news. You're gonna be an awesome Dad."

Sam just beams at Dean. "Thanks, man."

Cas turns to Amelia. "Congratulations, that's wonderful! You're both going to be great parents." Amelia smiles back at him.

"Thank you, Cas. I'm so excited!"

Chuck grins at her. "We all are. My blessings are with you, Amelia."

The excitement dies down a bit, and Chuck stands up again. "The trouble downstairs with Lucifer has been solved, so technically, you can all return home, if that's what you'd like to do. If you'd rather stay up here, though, then that's perfectly fine also. You're not overstaying your welcome or anything, I just wanted to make that clear. You're welcome up here anytime, all of 're wonderful guests, great company. Humans are refreshing every once in a while. I like to check in with you guys and make sure you're all doing okay."

A chorus of laughter meets his remark, and then, with the announcements over for the time being, everyone finishes their breakfast relatively quickly, and then Chuck snaps his fingers and clears the table like usual, and the people begin to trickle away, going back to whatever it is they were doing earlier. Chuck stops Cas on their way out.

"Castiel, your old job is always open, if you feel like returning. If you'd rather return to your job on Earth, that's fine too. Or we can find you a different job in heaven. My point is that whatever you choose to do, the decision is always yours, Castiel. Welcome home."

Cas smiles and hugs Chuck briefly. "Thank you, Father. That's very kind of you."

Chuck just smiles. "Anytime, Castiel. Now run along, don't let me keep you from your family."

Cas thanks Chuck again before running a few steps to catch up with Dean and Angel. Cas taps Dean on the shoulder.

"Now that I can fly again...what do you say we take Angel and go spend the day in Belgium?"

Dean squints at him, confused. "Belgium? Why Belgium? I mean, I'm all for free flights on Angel Airlines, but Belgium?"

Cas smiles. "Belgium is a wonderful city, Dean. Come on, it'll be fun."

Dean looks at him, still confused, before finally laughing. "Okay, fine, why the hell not." He runs a few steps ahead to grab Angel out of the air, scooping her into his arms.

"Papa says he's gonna fly us to a country called Belgium. Do you wanna go spend the day there?"

Angel nods, excitedly. "That sounds really fun, Daddy. Can we?"

Dean just smiles. "We sure can, Princess. C'mon."

He carries her back to Cas, and then Cas reaches for his hand, and as soon as their fingers are intertwined the world is spinning around them. There's the whoosh of wing beats and the crack of the ozone smell of rain, and then when Dean blinks open his eyes they're standing on a cobblestone bridge over a beautiful river, historic buildings all around. The air smells much cleaner than he's used to, and it's probably around noon, the sun high in the sky and people bustling everywhere. It looks like a little town out of a storybook. Dean turns to Cas.

"Dude, where are we?"

Cas smiles at him. "Ghent, Belgium. It's a lovely little city. One of my favorite places, actually. Angel, while we're here, please don't try to fly. Your wings technically still exist but they're between dimensions right now, and they only work in heaven, so you'll just end up falling and hurting yourself. Come on, follow me."

Dean blinks a few times, still a bit disoriented. He sets Angel down on the ground, holding her hand as they follow Cas across the cobblestone bridge and down a charming little alley, with shops lining both sides. Suddenly a delicious smell wafts across the air, and Dean sees Castiel beckoning from outside a little shop with a sign that depicts...french fries?

Dean scoops Angel up and jogs over to Cas, following him inside the store, which was most definitely the source of the delicious smell.

Cas turns to smile at him. "Fry shop. Belgium is famous for their french fries. World renowned, actually." He turns to the young woman working the counter and orders fluently in a language that sounds a lot like English, except with more hard vowels, and a lot of K's.

The woman scoops amazing looking golden brown french fries into a large paper cone before filling a small cup with something that looks like mayonnaise. She hands them both to Cas, who thanks her and passes her some foreign money. Dean follows him back out the doors of the shop and down the street to a little cluster of metal cafe tables.

Dean grins at Cas. "I didn't know you spoke Belgian."

Cas laughs. "Belgian is not a language, Dean. They speak Dutch here. Actually, French, Dutch, and English. But primarily Dutch. You forget that I am literally millenia old. I'm fluent in every living language and almost every dead one, too."

Dean just blinks a few times. Damn. Sometimes he forgot exactly how badass Cas was as an angel. Human Cas wasn't exactly someone he'd want to get in a fight with in a dark alley either, but as an angel he was just downright intimidating. Not to mention sexy.

Dean grabs a few of the french fries and takes a bite. "I'll be damned," he mutters. "These are the best thing I've ever eaten."

Cas smirks at him. "Better than pie?"

Dean just laughs, taking another bite. "Better than pie. What's the mayonnaise stuff?"

Cas scoops some onto a short, stunted french fry and pops it in his mouth. "Belgian mayonnaise. It's almost like horseradish and ranch mixed with mayonnaise. Try some, it's good."

Dean takes Castiel's advice and with the creamy, tangy sauce the fries are even better. He's beginning to wonder why he even bothers with American food at all, and by the time the enormous fry cone is half empty, he's vowed that he will never eat diner fries again.

When the cone is almost empty, Cas gives it to Angel, saying she can have the rest, and Dean watches with amusement as she seizes it and finishes the fries at almost superhuman speed. When it's empty, Cas gets up and chucks it in a little trash can before getting up and pointing down one of the streets.

"Ghent is a fairly small city. It's beautiful, but it's really rather tiny. We can probably walk around the whole thing in a half hour. Care to join me?"

Dean just smiles and stands up. Cas reaches for his hand and Dean internally panicks a little. They've done it before, but holding hands in public usually only gets them suspicious glances from strangers, and that's not really something he wants to go through again.

Cas senses his discomfort. "Dean," he says, reassuring him. "We're in Europe. They're much more liberal and accepting here than in America."

Dean just smiles and gives Castiel's hand a small squeeze. Angel skips over to Dean's other side, and he picks her up and sets her on his hip, wrapping his free arm around her to hold her steady.

Cas leads the way, touring them around the city and pointing out beautiful historic buildings. They pass a clocktower, several cobblestone bridges over the small River Ghent, tons of little chocolatier shops, loads of wonderful statues, perfumed apothecaries and soap shops, and finally, an expansive and beautiful monastery. It almost resembles a castle, with a tall wall all around it to keep the monks in seclusion. Visiting hours are closed for today, but Cas smiles and leads them across the little cobblestone street, to a beautiful historic church named Saint Bavo's Cathedral. They walk inside, and instantly Dean is struck by the atmosphere. The air smells cool and fresh, and the room is filled with absolute silence. There are a few people there, tourists with cameras, walking slowly and admiring the beauty of the carved marble statues and the stained glass windows. The place is massive, with small booths off to the sides of the church dedicated to specific saints. The area in the center for pews is massive. Even Angel recognizes the sacred aura of the church, her little footsteps growing quiet, her breath coming in awed little gasps at the sheer beauty of the cathedral. They wander slowly through, admiring the art and sculptures of the building. Dean squeezes Castiel's hand.

"This place is beautiful," he whispers. Castiel smiles at him.

"I know. It's my favorite cathedral on earth. It's one of the reasons why I like to come here."

They pass by a strange tall tower with two staircases, one on each side, and a platform at the top, embellished with marble statues. Dean frowns in confusion. "It's beautiful," he whispers to Cas. "But what exactly is it?"

Cas laughs quietly, a soft huff of breath. "It's a truth pulpit, Dean."

Dean nods, not exactly knowing what a truth pulpit is, but not exactly wanting to ask, either. Somehow it feels like merely speaking in a place this beautiful will tarnish it somehow. He's spoken to God himself and it was less impressive than the sheer beauty of the artistry. He can sense the faith and dedication put into the cathedral by those who built it, and it's astonishing.

They make their way to the front of the church, where there is a massive half-dome of stained glass that makes up the ceiling, almost a hundred feet above their heads. The sun is hitting it just right and pools of rich colored light dot the floor. Dean has to stop and catch his breath for a moment.

"Thank you for bringing us here, Cas," he whispers, and Cas smiles at him.

"I've wanted to share this with you for a long time now, Dean. I love you."

Dean smiles and squeezes his hand gently. "I love you too."

They make their way around the other side of the church, following the U-shaped walking path and passing more booths dedicated to the saints. Soon, they find themselves back at the doors, where two priests are standing and talking quietly in Dutch.

Cas bows his head to them slightly, speaking to them in Dutch. The priests both smile and murmur a few words back quietly, before Cas leads Dean and Angel out the doors and back onto the street.

"I thanked them and told them it was beautiful, they said thank you for visiting, God bless."

Dean smiles and presses a quick kiss to Castiel's hair. "That's the most beautiful place I've ever been, Castiel. Thank you."

Cas turns to smile at him peculiarly. "You called me Castiel. You haven't used my real name in quite some time now."

Dean shrugs. "It felt appropriate. Thanks, Cas. I mean it."

Cas just smiles. "I'm glad you liked it, Dean. Are we ready to go back?"

Dean nods, and as he hears the wing-beats and smells rain, he closes his eyes in anticipation and enjoys the whirling sensation of flight, hoping he can convince Cas to bring him back again someday.

I really, really liked how this chapter turned out. I've actually been to Ghent, so all the details in this chapter are true, and I can never appreciate an American french fry again :P I'm glad I got to draw from my personal experience of visiting Saint Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium. Seriously, go look it up on google images. Pictures don't even begin to do it justice but it's the most beautiful place I've ever been on earth, and I'm not a religious person, but the feeling of quiet serenity you get just from stepping foot inside the place is wonderful. I really want to go back someday. Okay, I mentioned in the author's note at the beginning that I might be starting a new ship. That ship is Anna/Charlie. I know Charlie has a girlfriend back on Earth, but I have a storyline that will explain how Anna/Charlie would fit in with that. I don't know if you guys would like to see that as a ship, but if you guys are okay with it, then I would love to write it. Also, I feel like my author's notes are way too long, but there's so much I wanna say to you guys...what do you guys think? And finally, name suggestions for Baby Winchester? I'll be picking the name from your reviews! Please answer the 3 questions in a review.

1. Would you like to see Anna/Charlie as a ship?

2. Are the author's notes too long?

3. A name for Sam and Amelia's little Winchester? (1 girl and 1 boy, first and middle please)

Chapter 9 should be up soon!


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